You Wanna Mean Girl, Lila?
by SugarCubeTikki456
Summary: "I've been broken and bruised by your evil twisted lies but I won't let you think you've won as this nice girl has gone for a complete makeover." -Marinette Dupain-Cheng
1. Framed

**Chapter 1: Framed**

"Thanks again, Marinette, for making the costumes once again!" chirped Rose with her hands clasped together.

"Oh, it was no biggie! Like…at all! You guys are my friends, obviously, I'd help you." Marinette bubbled with a bright smile. After all, she was delighted that she had managed to finish Kitty Section's t-shirts on time even after all the work she had, and oh! she couldn't forget those akumas.

"Our concert's starting exactly in about 20 minutes and I'm so excited and nervous! I can't believe Mr. Damocles actually allowed us to perform!"

"I'm happy for you guys and I'm sure you do great! If you can perform on national television, I'm sure you'll be able to perform for the school too!"

"Thanks, Marinette. Now, I better go and help the others with the instruments." Rose said sweetly as she got up from her chair.

"See ya and good luck!"

Rose nodded and rushed off behind the curtains where the others were. Marinette turned away to leave backstage to join Alya and her classmates in the seating area only then she heard a voice.

"Psst, Marinette!"

"Wayzz, What are you doing here? Is Master Fu okay? Is he sick? Did something happen to the miraculous? Did someone steal the miracle bo- "

"Just come with me and you'll find out!" Wayzz said as he flew forward and beckoned Marinette to follow him. She exchanged glances with Tikki who merely shrugged and set off on Wayzz's heels.

* * *

"I can't believe Master Fu locked himself outside the hotel room again! It's been the third time this week and I missed 10 minutes of Kitty Section's concert again!" Marinette blabbered to Tikki irritably.

"This time I really mean it! Master Fu really needs a phone!" Tikki muttered peeking out of Marinette's purse.

Abruptly, Marinette paused to a halt when she reached the school grounds. Instead of a lively concert with loud music and the audience chanting in sync with the music. She saw a scene with everyone out of their seats all in their own discussion with absolutely nobody on the stage.

"What could be going on?" Marinette questioned.

"Could it be a supervillain?" Tikki said exasperatedly.

"I don't know…I'll find out." Marinette rushed into the crowd of people surfing the area for a familiar face…she paused when she found Alya with Nino and Adrien and rushed over to them.

"What's going on? What happened to the concert?"

"Someone cut the wires for the power source to all the instruments, without the instruments working, the concert can't go on!"

"But who would…do that?"

"Not sure, but the school's going to find out." Adrien said with his eyes on speaking with the other teachers in a corner.

"And it looks like we're coming to a long and large assembly with Mr. Damocles expecting a confession!" Nino groaned as he too eyed the teachers.

* * *

Boy, and Nino was right; they had stayed an hour in the school ground waiting for someone to confess but obviously…nobody did so everyone was doomed to clean the school-except Chloe who had gone to New York for a week and Lila, of course- during the last period of the day leaving them all tired and dirty with no confession.

"So, who do you think did it?" Tikki asked Marinette after they went back home.

"I don't know, Tikki, but whoever did do it seriously wanted to get the entire school on their knees cleaning and mopping every nook and cranny of College Francoise Dupont." Marinette sighed and yawned as she collapsed on her couch, "but all I want to do now is sink into this couch and shove my face right into the land o- "before she even knew it, she fell fast asleep.

Tikki sighed; kissed Marinette on the nose and went to get some rest herself.

* * *

It was the next morning and surprisingly enough, Marinette was early for once, it might've been her falling asleep early yesterday and the result of no akuma attacks.

"Do my eyes deceive me or is Marinette Dupain-Cheng early for once?" Alya asked sassily as Marinette took a seat beside her.

"Nope, it's me, right in the flesh!" Marinette beamed and giggled, "so, what happened to Kitty Section's concert? is it cancelled?"

"No, it'll be back on once the culprit is on."

"Phew."

"Excuse me, everyone!" Lila boomed as she stood in front of the class standing in an awfully innocent, shy and guilty posture which made Marinette's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "I really have something to confess."

The attention of the entire class leered upon her as everything had soon gone very still and silent.

"I just like to apologise to everyone for not telling you about this sooner, but I was just afraid and unsure of what to do and it's my fault that you all got stuck in such an unfortunate situation." Lila announced, her voice as guilty and apologetic as possible.

_WAIT! Was Lila the one who sabotaged the concert yesterday? Was she trying to confess now? But why? All she ever did was lie and manipulate so why be honest now? Lila even threatened her to stop her from spilling the beans on her lies. What was with the sudden change of heart?_

"What are you talking about Lila?" Rose squeaked, her brows raising.

Lila sighed and guiltily looked to her feet as she shyly rubbed one on top of the other.

"I know who sabotaged Kitty Section's concert yesterday." Lila said raising her head, "I'm sorry, Marinette, but I just couldn't stand not exposing you."

Suddenly, all eyes sped towards Marinette's direction and she felt her own widening in shock, her face was glowing a mixture of sheer fury and embarrassment…and she thought that Lila had changed her ways.

"W-what are you talking about!" Marinette said sharply.

"I saw you caught in the action, I forgot my purse backstage, so I went in there to retrieve it, then far off, towards the cables, I spotted you snipping them you didn't notice me though." accused Lila.

"But I didn't do it guys, trust me!" Marinette said loudly as she stood up and banged her hands on the table.

"Are you sure that it was Marinette, Lila? Cuz' knowing my bestie, she'd never do such a thing!" Alya questioned as she raised from her seat.

Everyone nodded and turned to face Lila.

"Alya, I don't want to disappoint you, but I don't want to lie either and I have proof to show that I have not been mistaken."

Lila shuffled through her phone and then showed the class a picture which made everyone gasp in shock. It showed the back of a girl who clearly had iconic _raven pigtails _and _a grey blazer_. She was holding scissors in her hand and was evidently cutting wires in what looked like to be the backstage.

Once again, all eyes turned to Marinette but this time they were all bubbling with anger. Marinette's mouth was agape, unsure of what to say but she believed that she only needed one person to trust her at this moment.

"You don't believe any of this, do you?" Marinette asked Alya who's eyes were still frozen on the picture.

"Marinette, I don't know what to say…but…how could you?" Alya said turning towards Marinette, her eyes burning with anger.

"What!"

"I said, how could you! After all the trust we've put in you, how could you do this to us-you can't deny that's not you in the picture!" Alya said with her voice rising.

"I didn't do it, Alya, I-did-not-do-it! That picture isn't even distinct, it doesn't even show the girl's face!"

"Oh yeah, Miss. Dupain-Cheng! Those pigtails are a difficult hairstyle to master and I don't think I've seen any girl in school style their pigtails in the way you do; they way you wear the pigtails is just unique. And oh, the picture isn't the only proof we have! Lila also said she saw you and if I recall correctly, you weren't there in the audience during the whole incident! The last place anyone's ever saw you was talking to Rose backstage!"

"The picture could be photoshopped and I wasn't there because-er-I was in the girls bathroom on the second floor." Marinette said defensively; she purposefully was indirect about accusing Lila of lying but everyone caught onto that anyway.

"Why would Lila lie?"

"Why would _I_ lie?"

_Oh please! She had enough of everyone not putting trust in her and taking a stranger's word so easily! _

"You'd lie to protect yourself but Lila, on the other hand, has no reason to lie." Kim said with narrowed eyes as he stepped into the conversation.

"Think about what you're saying, guys! Have you ever even thought why I would sabotage Kitty Section's concert? I've been supporting them from the start and I even design costumes for them. So, why would I do it?" Marinette said her hands gesturing all over the place, she was trying, trying her _best _to convince them.

"Oh, it's not that hard to believe, not at all." Alix jeered as everyone nodded, "Nobody in this cla-oh! Who am I kidding? Nobody in this school has made as many achievements as _you have. _Not even Chloe or Adrien and they're famous! Firstly, you designed Jagged Stone's album then you have a soup named after you! You had Jagged Stone in your house, and you were on national television! You got praised by Gabriel Agreste and Audrey Bourgeois, you were invited to New York by Audrey Bourgeois! You were praised by Clara Nightingale and almost played Ladybug in her music video and you probably have the entire fashion industry kissing your shoes by that _amazing _hat you made that was showcased in a Gabriel fashion show. After all those achievements! How would it even be possible that you don't have some…Pride? Arrogance? Jealousy? Nobody's that nice or perfect…it could be possible that you were jealous of someone else getting the attention for once and thus you sabotaged Kitty Section's concert as you wanted all the attention for yourself."

Alix's speech had left everyone in agreement, and it left Marinette in utter shock and betrayal.

"How could you say that? Is that what you think of me? As some attention-loving, jealous and self-absorbed brat!"

"I don't know, M, if you want something! You'd do anything for it!" Alya acknowledged huffily.

"W-what are you talking about?" She hadn't recalled being so desperate for anything ever! What were they talking about?

"Adrien, of course. You'd do anything for his attention, we know you, Marinette." Mylene murmured, "you practically stalk the living out of that poor boy and you're so obsessed with him that you can't even consider any other girl possibly having a better chance than you, you get jealous so easily."

"Adrien and _this _is completely a different situation and all the girls I've known that had liked Adrien are either possessive, mean or manipulative. None of them deserve him. They're all petty." _Marinette honestly had to thank god for Adrien being late otherwise the situation would've been way worse._

"What makes you think you're not petty?"

"Mylene, please, don't drift the conversation topic. Yesterday, all of you were praising how lucky you were to have me as a friend and now, you're accusing my every breath. Don't any of you believe me? Don't any of you trust me?"

Silence drifted through the class as nobody answered and as seconds ticked by, the more Marinette's heart felt bruised, betrayed and humiliated.

"Max?" Marinette turned to him with longing eyes, if they weren't going to speak, she'd make them speak.

"According to my calculations, the possibility of you being guilty is 90%. Sorry."

"Nate?"

"All has been said."

"Nino?"

"Sorry, I'm with my girl on this one."

Dread filled inside Marinette. Her breathing became lighter as moments passed.

"Sabrina?"

"Well…Lila is obviously right! She's way nicer than you!"

"Ivan? Rose? Juleka?"

"We're sorry, we thought you were our friend, Marinette. Didn't you say that? Was it all fake? And you were in the backstage when I last spoke to you too, so all evidence points to you." Rose snivelled her eyes full of disappointment, her expression mirrored by Ivan and Juleka.

Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes…it was just like the old days; she was facing her worst fear all over again. Loneliness.

"N-none of you believe me then…" Marinette whimpered, her eyes to the table as she collapsed in her seat.

"I'm sorry, Marinette, but I just had to expose you, I couldn't let you hurt my friends anymore. And Adrien will find out soon too." Lila said 'apologetically'. Marinette almost swore she sensed that sneer smirk in her voice.

"Er…guys? What's going on? Why are you all out of your seats and where's Ms. Bustier?" a voice came from the doorway.

"Ah…Speak of the devil!" Alix retorted as everyone turned towards Adrien.

"Adrien…finally! You'll never guess what we discovered?" Alya sneered,

"What?" Adrien asked innocently as he walked to his seat.

"That my BFF is a manipulative deceitful little bitch." (Marinette winced at the use of language).

"WHAT? Alya, how could you say that about Marinette? She's our friend." Adrien retorted alarmingly.

"Not anymore, after what she's done."

"What did she ever do? It must be a misunderstanding."

"Listen up, pretty boy, Lila came and confessed that she saw Marinette toying with the wires; we had our doubts at first, but Lila showed us a picture that honestly changed our minds. "Alix clarified as Lila practically shoved the picture into Adrien's face, he did flinch at what he saw but he remained calm after that.

"It would make sense too as Marinette wasn't even there during the incident, the last place anyone saw her was backstage." Alya muttered.

"Look, everyone, one indistinct picture doesn't prove Marinette guilty. None of what you said proves Marinette guilty. Knowing Marinette she would never do this, besides, isn't she our everyday Ladybug?" Adrien explained it as it was a piece of cake.

The fact that Adrien believed her made her grin to herself, delighted that someone trusted her.

"Oh, you oblivious trusting boy, you shouldn't count on it or her…you have no idea of what she could do, we do know her, better than you, in fact, besides, Lila wouldn't lie. Marinette, on the other hand, has lie- "

"What's going on here?" Ms. Mendeleiev snapped as she stood near the doorway. "Is this school or a drama fest? Where's your teacher?"

"Er…we don't know where Ms. Bustier is, but we think we may have found the culprit to yesterday's situation." Kim uttered

Ms. Mendeleiev arched her brows in interest.

"It seems to be Marinette. Lila has proof."

Marinette's head shot up. She couldn't let this happen. She couldn't let Lila get away with this. She had to-

"Marinette. Lila. Principal's Office. NOW!"

And that's when she Lila's sneer smirk truly materialised on her face.


	2. Humiliated

**Chapter 2: Humiliated**

Marinette had stayed in Mr. Damocles' office for about three-quarters of an hour; trying not to explode the entire way through the long discussion. Lila had only stayed for the first 15 minutes going on to Mr. Damocles about how guilty she felt about not telling him sooner on 'Marinette sabotaging the concert'. She showed him the picture and elaborated _her point of view _of the situation. Marinette tried her best to convince the principal that she didn't mishandle with the wires, but humans honestly believed their eyes more than their ears. After Lila was dismissed, she was given a pointless lecture of how disappointed he was with her for property damage and for lacking the _acceptance of misdeeds_. But that wasn't the worst part, moreover, he sent a long email to her parents about 'her wrongdoing' and then he suspended her for a day! She hadn't even done anything wrong; this wasn't how justice worked in a court, she didn't even get to plan her defence appropriately.

Now, here she was, walking home from the office filled with utter dread! She was scared to go home…what would her parents even say? Would they believe her? She's never ever been in this much trouble before…well, she did nothing wrong so there was no reason to feel guilty or shameful, right? Instead, she felt distraught, wronged and betrayed, she felt like a used plastic bottle that had been dumped in the trash. They'd all been drinking out of her each and every time and she went by it and when the water in her was done; they tossed her aside and grabbed a new bottle. It wasn't fair, why her? What did she ever do? She only wished for the joy of her friends and she didn't want a little lying fox to come and disrupt it. It was like fate had gone to the wrong side.

Tikki was consoling her and telling her that her classmates would come around soon…but what if she didn't want them to come around? If they thought so little of her, maybe they didn't deserve her friendship…except Adrien, of course.

Adrien…his name slipped a soft smile on her face and bubbles of joy filled her within. He was with her and trusted her and she couldn't ask for anything more in this world.

* * *

Here she was: home.

Her fingers were wrapped around the doorknob debating whether to turn it or not. Marinette knew that she couldn't hide forever so she gulped and took a leap of faith.

And there they were her parents, standing near the counter and their heads turned to her direction when she entered, their faces were blank and emotionless so she couldn't presume what they were thinking but all she knew was that she couldn't have them viewing her as a criminal too so she spoke too soon:

"Mom, Dad, look, I can explain, I didn't do it! It wasn't me instead Iwasframedbythiscrazylyinggirrlwhowantstoruinmylifeandstealmyffriendsbmakingmelookaculpritshecreatedfakeproofsandshowedittotheprincipalandhebelievedherand- "

"Sweetie, please breathe, we know you didn't do it from the very moment we got that email, okay?" Sabine clarified as she interrupted Marinette's rambling.

"You believe me?"

"Of course, we do! We trust and know that our daughter would never do such a thing like that. In fact, we even called the school a couple of times after we got the email to withdraw the punishment, but they simply didn't listen. Honestly, I've considered to sue that place a couple of times already and I might actually do it now." Tom acknowledged.

"Er…dad, that won't be necessary and-er- "Marinette threw her belongings on a chair and rushed over to her parents to pull them in a hug, "thank you… for believing in me!"

"Oh, sweetie, that's what parents do…they always look out for their children." Sabine cooed and placed a kiss on the side of Marinette's forehead.

"Darling?" Tom called after they broke apart from the family hug, "isn't there any way we can prove your innocence? Didn't they have CCTV cameras in the stage?"

"No, dad, the stage was portable and pretty much made by the students with no proper walls or flooring; it was only for Kitty Section's performance. "

"What a shame. We could've done something to set things right but…sweetie, is everything alright…at school? I know how teenagers can be…"

"Er…well…Fine, everything's fine, mom! My classmates have really been _supportive _of me!"

"Really then! Oh well, that's good knowing, if you have any further problems at school, please inform us."

"Er…sure, dad! I will! I-I definitely…will!" Marinette stuttered trying her best to not look suspicious, "well, I'll just go to my room then, I'm really tired!"

"Okay then, rest well!" Sabine said as Marinette gathered her belongings and ran up the stairs.

* * *

As soon as she was up, Marinette collapsed on her bed, her shoulders feeling way lighter than before.

"Marinette! Why did you lie to your parents?" asked Tikki as she flew towards the bed.

"I didn't want them to worry, Tikki, they're busy with the bakery and stuff. They don't need to know about my problems."

"But you're not alright and their own daughter is definitely more important to them than the bakery!"

"That's very sweet, Tikki. But I am fine, The love of my life and my parents believe me, what more could I ask for? Besides, it's not like the whole school hates me!"

"If you say so but please do take care of yourself!"

"I will, don't worry, Tikki! I will."

* * *

On Thursday, Marinette was up and early as she walked her way to school. It was a bright sunny day outside without a single cloud in this sky. She loved the weather! It made her want to sit down under a tree and start sketching a new design.

Marinette had reached the entrance of school, she went up the stairs and passed the doors. She was planning to go to the art class and start up with sketching new design before the attendance in the classroom. Hmm…what should she design though? A hat? Some gloves? A sundre-_Why was everyone whispering and looking her way?_

Groups of students standing on the grounds and through the hallways were whispering to their mates, giving her dirty looks as she passed by. They weren't whispering quietly either, it was audible enough for Marinette to hear…

"_Isn't that her?"_

"_That's her from the photo, she did it!"_

"_How could she do that? And not own up or admit her mistake even now!"_

"_What a bastard! She clearly needs some attitude adjustment; I mean look at what she's wearing!"_

"_And I've heard she's class representative! How did the class even vote for her?"_

"_She clearly has a thing for cleaning and making the whole school do it along with her."_

"_Why is she so short? It must be her height of humanity."_

Marinette was trying her best to keep calm as she strolled through the corridors, fighting tears and adrenaline along the way as she nervously stroked the clutch of bag and kept her eyes down. She could feel Tikki comforting her from the inside of her purse. The feeling of being the main topic of conversation was terrifying…especially at high school…word does travel fast.

"_Her head is down like it should be for all the trouble she put us in through on Monday."_

Don't let them get to you, Marinette!

"_Oh my! What do we have here? The definition of a snake!"_

Don't let them get to you!

"_Damn, have you heard she has a crush on Adrien, this bitch and him, no way! She could just stay in the trash and wave goodbye to her prince charming!"_

Don't let them ge-

THUD!

Marinette was on the ground breathing heavily. She had fallen over like the klutz she was, this was normal but what was not normal was the laughter she heard from about every single person in the hallway. Being the centre of humiliation was terrifying, absolutely terrifying.

"HAHAHA! WHAT A BABY! SHE CAN'T EVEN STAND ON HER OWN FEET!" a boy yelled which strengthened the uproar of laughter.

Quickly and awkwardly, Marinette got on her feet and ran away from the scene. She had never felt so humiliated ever in her life. Maybe, everyone in the school did hate her!

* * *

Marinette was in class sitting at the back; Nino had taken her seat, of course, as expected! And Lila was sitting in Nino's old seat, that too was expected! Nobody really had spoke to her in class yet…thank god! But, on the downside, they were still giving her dirty looks. Even when seated in the back, she felt like she was in the centre of humiliation.

"Marinette?"

Marinette turned her head to the side and she saw who she wanted seated there…

"H-Hey Adrien." _Damn, even if she was so upset, she was still stuttering around him!_

"So, I heard things didn't go too well with the principal and the school isn't taking this too well either so are you alright?"

"Well-uh-you could say I'm as fine as I could be." Marinette said as she gazed towards the direction where Nino and Alya were sat. Alya and her locked eyes for a second but soon she went back to whispering to Nino.

"I'm trying to convince Alya and Nino. But they just won't listen, especially Alya." Adrien reassured as he caught her staring.

"Oh…I'm not surprised. Alya's really stubborn, she's not going to believe words when there's evidence even when it comes to her own BFF."

"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll come around."

"I…guess…"

Ms. Bustier entered the classroom and gestured all of them to get their stuff ready. As everyone shuffled through their belongings, there was one evil eye that stared at a certain ravenette at the top.

* * *

Marinette was in the girls toilet washing her face; someone had thrown a banana on it 'accidently'.

Soon, she was done with cleansing her face and ready to leave when…

"Hey Marinette, fancy seeing you again in here!"

Marinette could have jammed her backpack in the speaker's face when she recognised that snarky voice.

"Lila. How are you? Sorry, I mean how are your lies?"

"Fine, honey, I'm fine. So are my lies, you, on the other hand, aren't quite fine, are you?"

"Yeah, you would know."

Lila's expression changed from light humour to dark and threatening as she cornered in on Marinette.

"I tried warning you before, but you didn't listen. You see, this is what happens to the ones that challenge me, they lose everything! And don't count on your friendship with Adrien, I'll make sure you lose him too."

Marinette narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

"You know what, Lila! You make me sick, your just an angry little attention-seeking girl who likes to spread all the misery in the world! Why can't you have a change in heart? Lila you don't have to lie and manipulate others to make people like you, they'll like you if you'd just be yourself. Lies are just going to make everyone hate you in the end!"

"You speak as if you know me, but that's far from the truth, you don't know anything about me so I suggest you stop poking your nose into my life, maybe, you should scurry along, I'll be done with you before you say goodbye."

"I'm outta here cuz' I'm done with your shit as well and _goodbye!"_

Marinette scurried out of the washroom leaving Lila smirking behind.

"She spoke too soon."

Lila removed her phone from her pocket and started playing a recording:

'_You know what, Lila! You make me sick, your just an angry little attention-seeking girl who likes to spread all the misery in the world!'_

"One should always be careful with their wording around me." Lila sneered and she sashayed out of the room, off to find a particular person.

* * *

Marinette was at her locker getting her books for the next class, she was so done with Lila and everyone else. She couldn't wait until this day was over! Anyways, last class was just around the corner, what more could possibly happen?

"Marinette?"

"AH-Wha-Oh! Adrien, it's just you."

"Er…Marinette, I'd really like to talk you."

"Oh…okay…what do you need?"

"Er…I-well-look, about a few minutes ago, Lila came to me crying and she looked pretty bad. I asked her 'what was wrong' and she told me that you were bullying her."

"Oh, Adrien, you didn't believe that, did you?"

"No, I didn't at first but then she showed me a recording of you saying that she makes you sick and she was this attention-seeking girl who liked to spread all the misery in the world, did you actually say that."

"Yes, I did, but- "

"Marinette, I know you hate Lila and her lies but bullying her is a bit too extreme even for her?"

"But- "

"I think you should simmer down a bit, you know, Lila only lies, she's not hurting anyone, that doesn't mean we cross the line and make her stop."

"But- "

"Maybe you should, for a change, be nice to Lila. She's not that bad, she'll appre- "

"ADRIEN AGRESTE! Listen to me! Look, I did say that but I'm not bullying her! Besides, Lila twisted my conversation and recorded it, like usual. If you're going to turn against me and believe her over me then fine! Do it! Our friendship is over!"

"Marine- "

"No. I don't want to hear it. I thought you would understand me, believe me, trust me but no, even you're not on my side, and I can't afford to have my heart shattered all over again, so I'm done with you and anyone else here."

"But, wai- "

"Oh…and don't bother to sit beside me in class and apologise, it won't work, you should rather sit with _her_!" Marinette snarled and started to walk away.

"MARINETTE, WAIT!" Adrien yelled after her.

But no, she didn't wait, instead, she ran back into the girls' washroom and collapsed on the floor. She could feel fresh tears strolling down her cheeks. She sobbed and sniffled to her heart's content as she felt broken and alone, for the one, who's name would make her smile…had made her cry.

* * *

**Sorry Adrienette fans. I had to do this for the sake of the story to move on…but don't worry, Adrien will come back eventually…**

**I was supposed to post this tomorrow, but I got done with this chapter quicker than I expected so I decided to post it a day early!**

**Also, thanks for all the follows and reviews for the first chapter! I didn't expect to get so many…but I honestly hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter as well! Thanks everyone for your support once again!**


	3. Snapped

**Chapter 3: Snapped**

"Oh…I'm a mess…I'm such a mess!" Marinette breathed into her pillow as she lay on her bed with her eyes red and puffy. She honestly didn't know what was even going on in her life anymore.

"Oh…Marinette, everything'll be fine. I'm sure not everyone's against you."

"You think I was a tad bit harsh on Adrien?" Marinette asked as she sat up straight.

"Maybe…you sort of did overreact and spoke too soon? But then again…he too should have listened to you."

"Hmm…yeah…you're right! I did overreact, but Adrien wasn't exactly being helpful either…he said, 'lies didn't hurt' Wasn't it obvious enough that Lila's lies clearly were hurting me? Then again, he's oblivious as heck…but shouldn't he have at least considered my point of view? What I felt clearly was valid and he knew perfectly well of what Lila was capable of, right? He too couldn't have gotten fooled…well…then again, Lila is a really good actor and he could have gotten-ugh-this is all so confusing! It's like I don't know who to trust anymore at all!"

Marinette collapsed on her bed once again; her head throbbing with a million thoughts, she was so confused and sick of life right now, if only, she could just switch schools but…that was what Lila wanted her to do and she wasn't going to give in to her liking, she would fight for her justice not back away and escape her problems.

"Marinette! You have a visitor!" Sabine's voice echoed from downstairs causing Marinette to rise from her bed.

"A visitor? Who on earth could that be? Please don't tell me it's Adrien! I'm not ready to face him!"

"You'll only find out once you go down." Tikki advised and Marinette got off her bed and went downstairs.

* * *

"L-Luka? What are you doing here?"

Marinette stared surprisingly at the blue-haired boy standing outside her house.

"I just came to drop off your sewing kit, I found it in the art room resting idly on top of a shelf and realised it was yours, you should be more cautious with your belongings especially something so close to your heart." Luka simpered as he handed Marinette her kit.

"Thank you, Luka." She took the kit from his hands and smiled, Marinette could feel the heat rushing up to her cheeks at his mere presence, " So, would you like to come in?"

"I'd love to but honestly I have to finish writing a song maybe another time."

"Oh…okay then…" Marinette squeaked as she rubbed anxiously rubbed the tip of her of her foot over the other.

"Hmm…there seems to be something burning inside you, a sense of uneasiness, confusion and curiosity? Tell me, Marinette, is there something in your mind?"

"So..." Marinette glanced back to make sure her parents weren't listening, they were fortunately in the bakery working, in a reasonable distance so they couldn't snoop in on the conversation, "You don't really think I did _it_, the thing that happened with Kitty Section?"

"No, of course not, never would I ever consider believing something like that. I know you, Marinette and I know you'd never do something like that."

Marinette smiled and she found her blush darkening, but she honestly was genuinely happy to have someone on her side.

"T-Thank you for believing me."

"Of course, but…this isn't exactly what's bothering you, is it?"

"Well…it's this girl in my class, her name is Lila. She was the one who framed me…"

"Oh? So…I've heard of her…what grudge does she have against you?"

"You see…she lies with every breath and has got everyone wrapped around her finger, she dislikes me because I know of her true nature and could possibly expose her any time of the day. She thinks lowering others' trust in me will prevent them of knowing of her lies and now…after what happened…nobody trusts me anymore, and nobody wants to talk to me…I'm so…lonely…"

"Hey," Luka said in an assuring tone as he laid his hands on Marinette's shoulders, "don't worry, Lila's lies will come out clean one day and you will get your justice, I promise. Besides, remember, you'll never be lonely, you already have one person on your side, and I assure that you'll have more."

"Thank you for everything, Luka."

"You thank me too much."

"Well…you are a very _thank-able_ person."

Luka chuckled as he lowered his arms.

"I better get going now, take care of yourself, Marinette, _Au revoir._"

"You too, Luka! _Au revoir_."

And she found herself gushing with joy behind the closed door.

* * *

School was the same the next day as well. She was sitting alone at the back with glares and jeers. Adrien wasn't in school today…thank god! But it didn't change anything at all…being treated like a felon was terrible especially since _she did nothing wrong! _

And here she was, in the cafeteria, sitting alone at a table trying to enjoy eating, but avoiding those dirty looks and snarky comments was hard especially those from her classmates.

Alya and Nino were sitting with Lila on a table right across her (great!) and watching them eat and talk and talk…without her…was painful.

Lila was giving her sneaky smiles and eye rolls which was bothersome, oh, she was such a b-

"Hey!"

Marinette jumped at the voice and glanced to her side to see it was Kagami, she stood cold as usual with a lunch tray in her hands.

"May I sit here." Kagami asked pointing to the seat opposite to her.

"Er…sure, Kagami, why not?"

"Thank you." Kagami said sternly but politely as she sat opposite to Marinette placing her lunch tray down and started feasting on her salad.

Marinette could not help but stare at Kagami with her mouth slightly agape. Well…She and Kagami hadn't spoken since Friendship Day but they did exchange numbers strangely enough they didn't get a chance to text much either. Kagami was always busy practicing her fencing skills with her mother.

"I didn't know you went to school here." Marinette stated to break off this awkward silence.

"I've been going here for a couple of months now ever since I shifted here from Japan."

"Oh! Really? I haven't seen you around much."

"I…have fencing classes to attend so I'm not around in breaks much, and it's not like anyone appreciates my presence here anyways."

"Why would you say that?"

"See…I don't really know anyone well here apart from Adrien and you…I guess…and nobody really wants to speak to me either, they just think I'm-"

"Don't finish that sentence. I get it. I know how teenagers can be. They live on rumours and gossip and they just don't understand that different is good."

"Thank you, Marinette." Kagami said with soft smile on her face, "speaking of rumours, I've heard about the Kitty Section _incident_."

"Oh, so you've heard about_ that_." Marinette said gravely, as she enunciated the last word out with sheer disgust.

"And I don't believe it. Not at all. It's a lie."

"You really don't believe it?" Marinette asked, her eyes lighting up with some hope.

"No, I don't think a girl like you is capable of something like that. Not an insult so take it in a good way. Also, I've had my eyes on _that_ girl ever since she posted that picture of her kissing Adrien on the cheek and all I can see is that she's made up of manipulation and lies."

"Well, you've got the last part right, Lila is an earth-born demon."

"Lila? So that's her name…wow, she even has the word _lie _in her name."

"Oh yeah! Right! It's actually spelled as L-I-L-A, but you know what, let's just pretend it's not."

"So, let me guess, _Lie-la _is this attention-grabbing girl who can convince everyone that she's met about every celebrity on this planet; wants to doom everyone who goes against her and is into hot blonde models."

"Yeah, that sound's just about right." Marinette giggled, finally, chatting with someone about her worries felt nice and she felt less isolated, for one, maybe her life wasn't that bad.

"Hey! Kagami, right?" A familiar voice said causing both Marinette and Kagami to turn their heads to the side.

There, standing on the side of the table, were Alya and Lila standing side-to-side. _Lie-la_ was simply staring at Kagami _sweetly _and Alya was looking right at Marinette with this expression of anger and disgust. Believe me, it really did hurt.

"Yeah and you're _Lie-la_."

"I've heard so much about you from Adrien, your awesome fencing skills and how you beat him every class an- "

"Why are you even talking to me?" Kagami asked sternly with no regret in her face, her attitude made Lila flinch a little, but she came back to her _innocently sweet face_.

"Oh no, I just want to talk to you, that's it. Perhaps, get to know you? Hey, why don't you join us for lunch tomorrow, I can introdu- "

"I will not be associated with any of that, thank you."

"Oh? So, you'd rather be associated with someone who could practically stab you with a knife on the back for even a single glance at Adrien." Alya jeered glaring daggers at Marinette. Oh no! RED ALARM!

"Yeah, I'd rather be associated with someone who'd stab me rather than burn me alive. At least, she'd leave my body whereas your green-eyed friend here wouldn't even leave my ashes, that voice of hers would swallow them up."

Alya and Lila practically looked like they had been slapped on the face and it was honestly very amusing to see _Lie-la_ beaten down, Marinette was trying not to burst out laughing on the spot right there.

"C'mon, Lila. Dealing with these two is a waste of time." Alya scoffed as she dragged Lila away.

Kagami rolled her eyes and got up to dispose of her tray, Marinette caught up on her heels.

"Oh, wow! You actually dealt with her without getting trapped in her web of lies." Marinette exclaimed surprisingly.

"I don't really give into manipulation."

"Congratulations! You're the first."

"Second, actually. You didn't give in either."

"Well, yeah, but my situation was different."

"Perhaps, but still counted." Kagami said disposing her tray as Marinette chuckled.

"Wait, how come you didn't react to _I'd stab you if you would steal a single glance at Adrien._"

"It was pretty obvious you had feelings for him and that you were jealous of me before Friendship Day, that is. But things have changed now, and I'm willing to give you a chance."

"Thank you."

"Your Welcome." Kagami replied as Marinette disposed her tray, "can I sit with you tomorrow as well?"

"Consider it done, not only tomorrow but any day and anytime."

Kagami smiled and nodded, then the two talked all the way to their classes.

* * *

Marinette sat at the back smiling as she was sketching a new design inspired by flowers. They had a substitute teacher for Maths and were free to do anything they liked. Everyone else had surrounded Lila listening to one of her tall tales. Damn, when will they ever learn?

"Marinette!" Alya called, "is it true?

"Is what true?" Marinette said begrudgingly.

Great! Just because the substitute teacher had gone out of the class, it doesn't mean they'd take the opportunity to harass her.

"Lila told us you broke her phone in lunch, is it true?" Alya said sternly as she held a broken phone to her face.

"What! No…I was with Kagami in lunch and you know that."

"She said she left her phone on the desk at lunch and according to Ivan, who was the second person who entered class after lunch, saw you already there."

"One, just because I was the first person here doesn't mean I broke the phone. Two, I didn't even see her phone on the desk. Three, why are you asking me now? It's the middle of the lesson, asking me at the start seems like what a normal person would do. Four, how would Lila know I did it if she wasn't there and Five, stop accusing me on every puny crime that happens these days."

"Your track record hasn't been good these days. Also, Lila told us you threatened to break her phone for exposing you on the Kitty Section incident." Alya responded.

"Moreover, we found the phone in the trash can now, not only did you break it, you also dumped it away, not cool." Alix rebuked.

"You act like you're so innocent in front of us when you're not, this is really getting serious, Marinette, we may have to repor- "

"You know what, _bitches_, fine! I won't act innocent anymore, I'll act just the way you want me to. I've bent backwards to help you, and this is how you repay me? Believing a stranger's words and not considering my point of view even for a second! And all I've ever done was be nice and nice and nice! But no, kindness hasn't given you satisfaction, you just used it all up in me and now, you're tossing me away as you've found a much more interesting pawn. Oh! But you'll see…yeah…all of you will see how not nice I can be. And by the end of this I can assure you that each and every one of_ you _will be beggin' on your knees for me!" Marinette snapped, she was up on her seat glaring down the class with sheer fury and frustration.

Everyone froze on the spot instantly; they were shocked by the ravenette's outburst. However, Marinette didn't give their unmoving state any pity. As she left the top row and was walking right to the bottom with this dangerous gleam of fury in her eyes. She stopped right next to Lila, who too was equally shocked as the classmates, and Marinette bent in close enough to her ear so only she could hear.

"I've been broken and bruised by your evil twisted lies but I won't let you think you've won as this nice girl has gone for a complete makeover."

With that being said, Marinette smirked and walked the hell out of that classroom.

_After all, only a bitch could defeat a bitch, and that she was gonna be._

* * *

**This was some chapter to write, I had a lot of fun with this one and I can't wait for the next. This chapter was originally supposed to come out way earlier, but I fell sick and that crashed my writing schedule. I'm feeling much better now so I'm back on track.**

**Also, don't judge me, but I stan Luka and Kagami hard, they're honestly amazing characters, both unique and interesting. And please no ship hate, I don't want to see any hateful Lukanette reviews.**

**Anyways, thanks everyone once again for all the love and support! I can't believe this story already has over a 100 follows, I'm very flattered. Thank you! Just thank you!**

**Also…next chapter…the drama commences!**


	4. Queen of Mean

**Chapter 4: Queen of Mean**

Ugh...Chloe simply couldn't believe that she was back at this rotting place of a school again. She honestly wasn't expecting to be back either as she thought she could somehow convince her mother to perhaps shift to New York permanently...but things hadn't happened accordingly.

Anyways, she still thought this place was ridiculous, utterly ridiculous! Nothing compared to the awesomeness of New York! But what would these lowlifes know about New York anyways, they all lived in a teeny little world of their own wasting their time in little things...Ha! (Well, everyone except Adrikins, of course!)

As soon as Chloe entered the school, she got a number of usual glares...oh, but she didn't care! Lowlifes couldn't practically understand someone as exceptional and unique as her. Metaphorically, she was a queen, her superhero form was called Queen Bee for a reason.

The doorway to that typical classroom came into sight. She rolled her eyes as she sashayed towards it. Oh, how Sabrina would come running to her like the minion she was and cling onto her arm cooing about how much she missed her and would want to know about all the wonders she experienced in New York! Ugh, she was so annoying! But...maybe...she was a little grateful to have someone like Sabrina looking out for her like that...oh! who was she kidding? Why, of course, she didn't have to be grateful for anything! After all, she lived a queen's life, everything was offered to her like it should! And Sabrina and her weren't actual friends! Sabrina was a mere minion in her eyes and would always be!

Coming back to that class, they were all a bunch of shadows! The only people who you could say that slightly stood out were perhaps that blogger girl, Dupain-Cheng and oh-Adrikins, of course! Not to mention that Cesaire and Dupain-Cheng were a bunch of dimwits and goody two-shoes! Especially Dupain-Cheng! Oh, everyone followed her like puppets! She was adored and loved by everyone including Adrikins and it was simply disgusting! They all treated her as some sort of princess when she was just a baker's daughter! Marinette honestly got on her nerves really bad! Her and her goodness...ugh...it was revoltingly ridiculous. Goodness only makes one weak coming to the point where that soon would be taken advantage of, when on earth would Dupain-Cheng understand that?

Chloe reached the doorway of the classroom expecting to see everyone sitting in their seats in their own business like they should be, instead everyone was crowded around Dupain-Cheng's desk. And instead of seeing Marinette's seat empty like it usually was before class it was occupied by that Rossi girl, the one who had given her that stupid dance routine to summon Ladybug, which actually worked. What the heck was going on?

"-on't worry, Lila, we won't let Marinette hurt you, you can trust us for sure!" assured Mylene as the others nodded in agreement.

What? Dupain-Cheng hurt someone? And the whole class was against her? Was it Opposite Day? Now...seriously..what the heck was going on?

"Thanks, guys! I really appreciate all your support! You all are such true friends." chirped Lila 'sweetly'.

Chloe gagged at Lila's comment...great! another lowlife. Ugh...but really what happened to Marin-Ha! Why was she even thinking about this? As if she cared what happened to Dupain-Cheng? She had so much better things to think about like when to book an appointment for her next pedicu-

"CHLOEEE!" Sabrina's shrill voice became clear in her ears, ugh, great! She enveloped Chloe in a hug which honestly made her scowl, "I missed you so much, Chloe! How was your amazing trip to New York!"

"Yeah, yeah, it was amazing." Chloe said blandly, "Now get your filthy hands off me!"

Sabrina stepped aside obediently with a 'yes, ma'am' which made Chloe roll her eyes, she then turned to look at everyone else who obviously was giving her dirty looks except for Lila (who was actually smiling at her), anyways, she wasn't expecting a polite welcome.

"Welcome back, Chloe! Did you have fun at NYC." Lila asked nicely. When Chloe said she wasn't expecting a polite welcome, she really meant she didn't want one.

"Yeah, right. I did have fun, much more fun than I have with you dummies." Chloe said acidly with her arms crossed.

"Lovely." Lila uttered.

Alya then turned to face Lila giving Chloe a nasty look.

"There's no point being angelic with her, Lila, she's just made out of plastic."

"Excuse me, Cesaire, if I'm made out of plastic that just makes you all made of garbage. I will never be considered to be in a lower position then you lot."

"Oh, you bra-"

"Give it a rest, Alya, Chloe may be a brat but at least she isn't a backstabber like someone else we know." Lila stated patting Alya on the arm.

"Yeah, you're right, I don't think anyone could stoop as low as shedid." Alya scowled.

"Who's this she?" Chloe asked demandingly even though she had a vague idea on who it ought to be.

"Haven't you been following the student blog at all, Chloe?" Alix asked.

"No, ew, why would I want to follow anything related to this place?"

"Oh, then I guess, you'll never know." Alya said very unapologetically.

"Fine!" Chloe huffed, "like I care anyway."

She sashayed to her seat and sat down with a hair flip. She crossed her arms and gave Sabrina a look who just stood beside Mylene in confusion.

"Well. Aren't you going to take your seat?" Chloe asked Sabrina with narrowed brows.

"Er...well-I think I'll just talk to Lila for a bit." Sabrina admitted as she sheepishly scratched her neck.

"Hmph! Fancy yourself!" Chloe said annoyed as she looked away.

What is up today? Why is everyone acting weird, even Sabrina? What have I even missed? This is all so...ridiculous, uttering ridiculous! What can I even expect next?

Suddenly, Chloe realised the class was silent, a bit too silent, she looked towards her left seeing what was the meaning of this silence, what she saw made her jaw drop!

There, at the doorway, stood Dupain-Cheng, except for the fact that she looked nothing like the Dupain-Cheng she knew. In place of her top with her flower motif and blazer, Marinette was wearing a red crop top and a black leather jacket; her pink jeans were replaced by a black skater skirt and ripped tights and her pink flats by black ankle boots with buckles. Her make-up was much heavier, with an addition of red lip gloss and black eyeshadow. Not to mention her hair was out loose till her shoulders and in outward curls, her childish pigtails might have made her cute but this just made her look hot. The final element of her look was a black choker with the words 'MDC' plastered on it in fake silver. Now, Chloe was even more baffled, seriously! What on earth was going on?

Marinette entered the classroom sashaying gracefully (something else that was so un-Dupain-Cheng), she gave the others crowded by Alya's bench a look full of distaste as the others simply stood stunned in shock staring at her pointedly.

What Marinette did next was questionable, she just sashayed all the way to her desk and sat right next to her. Chloe would've made a snarky comment and asked her to move but something about this situation told her to remain silent as she too simply stared in shock as Marinette put her ,now, red bag under the table.

"Hey! That's my seat!" Sabrina complained as she crossed her arms and glared at Marinette.

Marinette tore her eyes from her bag and turned to look at Sabrina, her expression was blunt and bored. It was never an expression Chloe had seen on Dupain-Cheng before.

"As you're not sitting here, I might as well snatch my opportunity to get a good seat in the front."

"You have no right to sit there, you don't even have Sabrina's permission so it's better you move." Alya protested.

"Did you ask me permission when you and Lila took my seat? No, instead you pushed me to the back, so you have no right to talk."

Alya froze as she obviously didn't have any good comeback to that statement but yet she was foolish enough to further extend the argument by creating another excuse.

"Also, why would you sit next to her? you and Chloe can't stand each other! Besides, Chloe's the meanest girl at school!"

Ha! That was true! Ain't it, Cesaire? In fact, and she was gonna show her how mean she could get so that blogger girl would watch her mouth, next time.

"At least, Chloe is honest about being mean, unlike certain people I know." Marinette said staring right at Lila and Alya.

"This isn't over!" Alya warned.

"Sure, it isn't." Marinette said with a smirk.

"Hey! But what about my sea-"

"Sabrina! There's no worth fighting over a seat! Just go sit somewhere else from now on, okay?" Chloe demanded.

"Bu-"

"I said go sit somewhere else!"

"Okay, Chloe, if you say so." And Sabrina went to sit in the free seat next to Nathaniel.

Marinette tilted her head and gave Chloe this smile for her gesture, which Chloe pretended to ignore by looking face forward instead. Of course, she hadn't let Marinette sit next to her out of kindness, she only had done this as she felt like she owed Dupain-Cheng for sort-of defending her from Alya, that's all.

The class diverted their attention from Marinette to their own heated discussion about Lila's 'visit to Achu' from last summer. While Lila spun tales and tales, the class just stood in awe believing them more and more.

Meanwhile, both Marinette and Chloe sat face forward, it was as if they were intrigued by the projection screen ahead of them. Chloe couldn't help but steal quick glances at Marinette secretly hoping she would say something but no, instead, she just sat smiling with her eyes at front. This was getting ridiculous, utterly ridiculous, she needed answers and she would get them! Even if it included asking Dupain-Cheng.

"Er...Dupain-Cheng?" Chloe reluctantly said as she turned her head to face her.

"Yes, Chloe?" Marinette said mimicking Chloe's tone as she turned around, not very reluctant though.

"Why aren't you sitting in your own seat?"

"Haven't you heard, Chloe? Those classmates of yours' took my seat from me and pushed me to the back. lovely story, isn't it?"

"What I mean is why would they do that? Doesn't everyone utterly adoreyou?"

"Not anymore." Marinette uttered with a shrug.

"Really? Ha! That's ridiculous. You're like the Princess of Nice! Not a compliment, by the way!"

"Now, fate has made me the Princess of Mean. Well, that's what they're naming me on the student blog from the past week."

"Hmph...well, nobody could compete with me and actually win! I'm practically the Queen of Mean." Chloe huffed arrogantly as she crossed her arms with pride.

"Can't deny that. That's what everyone calls you. Chloe Bourgeois, The Queen of Mean."

"As they should! You, on the other hand, are still the Princess of Nice in my eyes. You can't be mean to save your life, everyone's out of their minds to think that you could just because of whatever you did."

"Are you sure, Chloe? Maybe, I'm sick of being nice. Maybe, I'd l like to renounce a new title."

"Yeah, right." Chloe said rolling her eyes,Dupain-Cheng and mean in the same sentence, no way!

"No, I'm being serious, I can prove just how not niceI can be."

"Oh really? Well, we'll see about that! You'll have to do far more than simply stealing my best friend's seat to be mean."

"We'll see, we'll see, indeed." Marinette said with a dangerous

gleam in her eyes and she turned to face forward again as she noticed Ms. Bustier entering the classroom which ended all discussions and made everyone go back to their seats.

Chloe stared dumbfounded after Marinette, she had such confidence and determination in her eyes for turning rotten? Was this even the same Dupain-Cheng she knew? Really...everything was so messed up! How did this class ever get so messed up? Hmm...maybe this lame old student blog would help her figure out what the heck has happened in her absence? She'd just have to find a way to access it after class...perhaps she could just ask Sabrina for the link?

* * *

Marinette sat in the cafeteria waiting for Kagami, her eyes lingering on her classmates who sat all together once again listening to Lila's tall tales...Gosh! When will they ever learn?

"Oh my sword! Marinette, is that you?"

Kagami asked, her eyes wide as she scanned her attire, head to toe.

"The one and only!" Marinette said crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair nonchalantly, "so, you like my new style?"

"Actually, yes, red is a very decent colour on you." Kagami stated as she sat down opposite to her placing her lunch tray on the table.

"Thank you." Marinette said as she continued to stare off at Lila and her classmates.

Kagami realised what she was looking at and sighed.

"You must have been very close to your classmates, right?"

"Huh?" Marinette said snapping out of her thoughts, "correction, was very close but I'm not anymore."

"Surely, some part of you feels that you wish you were there with them again, right?"

"No, not at all, I don't talk to people who associate with that snake anymore."

"Oh, really, then why do you keep looking over there?" Kagami asked arching her brows.

"I..." the words had simply slipped away from Marinette's mouth as she was unsure of what to say.

"Hey. It's totally understandable, one week ago, you were with them, sitting together at lunch, hanging out as dear friends with barely any conflict between you all. Then all of a sudden you were torn apart from them with a bunch full of lies and manipulation, I know you feel wronged and hurt but you can't deny the fact that you were friends with them."

"I'm not denying the fact that I am friends with them, I'm just saying that they could've been better friends, if they really cared for me, they should have trusted me when I was trying to prove my point. But they didn't and that's not what real friends do, maybe, they really weren't the friends I deserved after all, and even after all this is over, I don't think I can ever forgive them, I had to go through a lot because of them this past week, not to mention, they said some harsh things to me. Forgiving them is the last thing on my mind right now."

"Soon, you might reconsider, you never know."

"We'll see." Marinette stated as she sipped on her glass.

Abruptly, a lunch box was placed with a thud right on their table making Kagami and Marinette almost jump out of their seats.

"Don't mind me!" Chloe said as she sat down beside Kagami and dug a bite into her sushi.

Kagami gave Chloe a stunned glare then she turned to Marinette who shrugged and went back to eating her pasta and then she went back to glareat Chloe again.

"Ugh...seriously, Dupain-Cheng , could you please tell herto stop looking me down like someone who had just killed her dog." Chloe complained as she noticed Kagami's menacing stare.

"Why are you sitting here?" Kagami asked rather coldly.

"If you really want to know then fine! I was planning to go home for lunch like I always do but then my dumbo of a driver gets lost and can't pick me up on time so then I have to obviously eat here, at this place! I was going to sit with Sabrina but turns out she'd rather eat lunch with those peasants instead!" Chloe pointed at where her classmates were, "and I had nowhere to sit so I decided to come here as you two are perhaps more worth my time then the rest."

"Really, Chloe? I thought I was a lowlife baker's daughter and that you despise Kagami?"

"W-well, times change!" Chloe huffed and crossed her arms and looked away whilst Kagami and Marinette rolled their eyes and continued to devour their meals.

Chloe just glanced after the both of them and blinked, she leaned in closer and uttered:

"I read the student blog."

"Uh-huh." Marinette went as she looked up at Chloe.

"I know about that stupid concert of Kiddie Stitches-"

"Kitty Section." Kagami corrected.

"Yeah, whatever, I heard how it was postponed after a certain bit of a wrongdoing by someone."

"Right." Marinette retorted.

"And I-HahahahahHAHA!" Chloe started laughing mid-sentence whilst Marinette and Kagami exchanged glances.

"Has she gone mad?" Kagami asked as Chloe laughed.

"Nah, she's just being typical Chloe." Marinette answered as she shook her head at Chloe's composure.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop but-ha! What utter ridiculousness! Seriously! Marinette Dupain-Cheng sabotaging Kitty Section's concert due to her being a jealous bitch! Ridiculous! Utterly Ridiculous! And the school believes this! Seriously-HA!" Chloe chortled.

"Okay then?" Marinette stated baffled.

"What? It's just ridiculous to believe! I can't believe that's the reason why everyone's turned their backs on you! They shouldn't even be believing it in the first place! There all utterly ridiculous fools! God! What monstrosity lead them to believe this?"

"That monstrosity goes by the name of Lila Rossi." Marinette sneered giving Lila the evil eye.

"Her? Ugh! I should've known something was strange about her but can you blame me, fakes don't make such s big impression on me, at least I really am the mayor's daughter and not some witch who lies about it!" Chloe jeered.

"She is a witch all right, she's given Marine-" Kagami paused mid-sentence as she realised who was approaching their table, it was the lying witch herself along with her little pet, Alya.

"Hey, Kagami, Hey, Chloe!" Lila greeted politely.

"So, is it going to be some daily routine of yours' to come and bother us with your annoying mouth every lunchtime?" Marinette asked.

"Hey, Marionette." Lila greeted not so politely.

"Hey, Liarla."

Lila scowled whilst Alya gave Marinette the evil eye but soon both of them regained their composure.

"So, what are you up to, Kagami, Chloe?" Lila asked, "Having a nice day?"

"It was nice, until you showed up." Kagami stated bluntly.

"Oh, how about you, Chloe?" Lila ignored Kagami's insult.

"I'm as lovely as usual unlike your cheap blazer who seems to be crying from being on you! I mean, I totally understand why it would! I would probably puke if I was with you 24/7."

Lila narrowed her eyes ,getting sick of the nice act, she decided to change personalities.

"Well, you 3 are perfect for each other, aren't you? A cold and ruthless fencer, a mean and snobby queen and a deceitful jealous bitch. You three could probably do amazing things together, right? I wonder who would go to juveni-"

SQUIRT!

Lila stopped mid-sentence and stood there in horror as Alya screeched. Lila had ketchup on her face, neck and shoulders, it was dripping down staining her clothes and getting into her hair. It definitely wasn't something that could be wiped away in a minute.

"Oops!" Marinette squeaked with the ketchup bottle in her hands, "I'm so clumsy! I didn't mean to get ketchup all over you!"

"You-you-did this on purpose!" Lila screeched.

"Honey, you don't have any proof, everyone knows how clumsy Dupain-Cheng is so it was just one of her clumsy antics!" Chloe smirked.

"Bu-"

"Omg! Lila! Deal with them later, you're a mess, let's go to the ladies' room and get you cleaned up!" Alya screamed and dragged Lila out of the cafeteria leaving Chloe, Kagami and Marinette laughing behind.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, Dupain-Cheng! But that was damn hot! And worth it...OMG! Lila's face!" Chloe cackled leaning back in her chair.

"She definitely deserved that after all she did...that bitch." Kagami snarled.

"Wow! Is Kagami Tsurugi swearing?" Marinette questioned.

"I cannot find another word that could describe her, really, those comments she was making back there about us was extremely rude and inappropriate."

"Couldn't agree more." Marinette nodded.

"Well, it looks like you win, Dupain-Cheng! Maybe you're not all nice after all!" Chloe admitted shaking her head in defeat.

"Maybe I am not! So, do you think I'm befitting for the title of the Princess of Mean?"

"To the school and your classmates, yes. But to us, you'll always be a dork." Kagami teased whilst Chloe chuckled and Marinette pretended to look offended.

Now, now, ketchup wasn't the only thing Lila had to worry about as Marinette had a lot more in plan for her! Karma was just going to hit her right on the face!

* * *

**I'm not back home yet, I'm still in my native country. However, I managed to find enough time to finish Ch:4 and update which is fortunate. I'm not exactly sure when I'll post Ch:5, most likely after I come back home (So that's after September 6th).**

**Once again, thank you all for being supportive and understanding! Your patience finally paid off!**

**(I'm pretty sure majority of you know where the reference for the title of this chapter comes from!)**


	5. Make Up Or Break Up?

**Chapter 5: Make Up Or Break Up?**

* * *

**WARNING: MAJOR SOILERS FOR SEASON 3 EPISODE: LADYBUG!**

* * *

Marinette bade Kagami and Chloe goodbye as she left home. The day was quite thrilling; she and the girls had fun at lunch after the whole ketchup incident, she found out a lot of things about them she didn't know like the fact that Chloe was a KPOP stan and that Kagami had a secret passion for video games. Never in a million years would she have thought that she'd be at this position a week ago. If Lila hadn't pulled the little wire, she probably still would've been hanging out with her other classmates. Ugh…speaking of classmates, word got around pretty fast on the whole ketchup scenario and people weren't too _welcoming_ of her prescense but when had they ever been for this entire week? Besides, she was done with the lot of them, they'd suffer in their own little holes once all the _truths _came out.

"Oh, hey sweetie!" Sabine greeted as Marinette entered the bakery, "So, how was your day? Did your friends like your new outfit?"

"Yes, maman, they did. Apparently, red's my colour."

"It most certainly is, dear." Tom boomed as he came into view carrying Marinette;s favourite cake, "here, your favourite!"

"Aw…thank you, dad!" Marinette beamed as she rushed over to give both of her parents kisses on the cheek and then she sat down shoving a tiny piece of cake into her mouth.

Tom and Sabine simple laughed at their daughter's eating antics.

"Hey, aren't those your classmates?" Sabine asked as she gaze followed the TV.

Marinette turned around towards the TV, what she saw, made her spit out the cake that was in her mouth.

"And this week we'll be visiting the set of Gabriel Agreste's most recent photoshoot for an exclusive interview with his new muse, Miss. Lila!" Alec the reporter announced from the screen as photos of Lila and Adrien posing were shown in the background.

"WHA-HOW DID SHE-" Marinette was completely at a loss of words.

"Anything wrong, Marinette?" Sabine asked comfused at Marinette's reaction.

"Oh, nothing-er-it's nothing! I'm just shocked, that's it, yeah." Marinette nervously stuttered under the concerned eyes of her parents, "er-well-I think I'll just go up to my room, you see-I've got a lot of homework…to do! Yeah, homework! Better get to work with that sooo…I'll seeyoulatermomdadbye!"

Marinette grabbed her bag and hastily made it up to her room. Tikki popped out of her purse as she collapsed on her chaise.

"Oh my god, Tikki! Oh my god! How did Lila even become Gabriel Agreste's new muse!" Marinette grumbled.

"Um…maybe she had talent?"

"Hmph, yeah, right! The only talent she has is cooking up ridiculous lies and the art of manipulation."

"But why does this bother you? You already know of what Lila is capable of and that she only seeks attention, she isn't directly attacking you."

"I know she's not. But ugh…the more her lies cross limits, the more it agitates me! I can't get over it. Besides, what does Adrien even think of this?"

"Wait…aren't you mad at him?"

"I am but…I'm just curious?" Marinette uttered as she looked away at all those pictures of Adrien that she had stashed in the corner to throw away.

"Look, don't delve into things that don't concern you. Have a fresh mind for the weekend and just forget about Lila and anything related to her at all. I want you to have a good weekend, you can worry about her on Monday but for now…just relax." Tikki advised wisely.

"Yeah, you're right." Marinette assured and smiled at Tikki who then nuzzled at her cheek.

_Stay Calm, Marinette! There's nothing to worry about! Everything's going fine! You have Tikki, Kagami and Chloe! Nothing bad could happen with them around and seriously, Lila who?_

* * *

"Can you believe she took pictures with him? Ugh…how did his father even allow it!" Chloe complained to Marinette in the courtyard with sheer distaste in her voice.

It was Monday and they were back at school. Oddly enough, Marinette had a peaceful weekend with no akumas to fight in fact there were no akumas or sentimonsters for an entire week! Not that she was complaining but it did slightly concern her on what Hawk Moth was planning next.

"I know; this is all so confusing." Marinette agreed with Chloe, "surely Mr. Agreste should be able to see through manipulative liars like her, right?"

"Hmph! He usually has a reason to do everything! I wonder what she's offering him in return."

"Right." Marinette said as she anxiously bit her life…_this whole Lila being Gabriel's new muse was seriously getting to her badly and she couldn't understand why_…

The sonorous ringing of the bell put their deep conversation to a halt, it was an indication that they needed to go to class.

"Well…looks like it's a start of a new school day." Marinette sighed as she and Chloe started to go up the staircase to their classroom.

"I know and this day hasn't even started well! I'm wearing the wrong type of mascara, for example!" Chloe groaned.

Marinette giggled and shook her head at Chloe as they reached the entrance to the classroom.

"And we're back to square one." Marinette uttered as she took a step in with Chloe on her heels. She didn't go too far though as she froze immediately on the spot, her heart pounding in her chest.

_He was back…_Adrien was back. He was sitting in his usual place involved in a book inconspicuous of her presence.

She gulped and faced forward as she continued to walk towards hers and Chloe's desk, not daring to look to the side trying to put on a brave and careless act even though the desperate sound of her heartbeat was ringing in her ears.

_Ignore him, Marinette! Just walk forward and go on with your day! He shouldn't be able to affect you just like the others besi-_

"That's a nice outfit. Red suits you."

Marinette's footsteps came to halt as she once again froze on the spot but this time with a gasp. She could feel the pounding of her heart getting louder as she could feel his gaze lingering on her. She was facing forward still daring not to look at him as she fought the heat rushing up her cheeks.

Unresponsive and scared, Marinette regained her composure and quickly rushed away to her seat with Chloe worriedly in her heels with experience of that tense interaction.

Marinette sat down facing forward quiet and still, not trying to look to her side she tried to calm her heart down.

Chloe sat staring at Marinette unsure of what to do as _Chloe Bourgeois_ has never felt the need to console someone, in fact, usually, Chloe was the reason the person needed comforting in the first place. But no, today, that was not the case, her, Chloe Bourgeois sat trapped with her seatmate and her broken heart unsure of what to do or say or what not to do or say.

"Ahem…Dupain-Cheng." Chloe said blandly as she avoided eye-contact.

"Yes!" Marinette responded startled by the Chloe's abruptness as she turned her head to face her with a fake smile.

"Do you remember when you helped me out with my mom?"

"Oh, um, yeah, _I do_! What about it?"

"I, well…" Chloe stopped mid-sentence as she pursed her lips together.

"Well what?"

"Well…er…Thank you! For that, actually…"

"Oh, um…your welcome?"

"No, don't take this the wrong way, I actually mean it. Thank you…you really didn't have to that, you could've lived your dream life in NYC but no, you risked that and instead you helped me and…I might've never admitted that to myself then…but my mother's right, Marinette, you really are exceptional, not only at fashion but at in a lot of other ways too. This class doesn't deserve you."

"I…Thank you, Chloe!" Marinette beamed a genuine smile this time.

"ER…OKAY THEN! Now don't you think I've gone all soft, okay, that was totally a one-time thing!" Chloe uttered as she flipped her hear and pretended to examine her nails.

Marinette laughed and said "Of course not, Chloe, of course not, you'll always be the _Queen of Mean_."

"Good because this queen obviously has to be there to see Lila Rossi go down!"

"And that indeed will happen!" Marinette assured as she turned to glare at Lila who was chatting with Alya about her great-uncle who _apparently _won broke the world record for boxing…_indeed it will!_

* * *

"MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!" Ladybug yelled as she threw her lucky charm in the air reversing all the damage done.

There had been an akuma attack before lunch which means she had to go transform and safe the day again with Cat Noir! It was Gigantitan again who appeared to have a temper tantrum again this time for ice cream and was chasing poor Andre Glacier around town. Fortunately, they had managed to defeat the akuma quickly enough.

"Pound It!" Ladybug and Cat Noir clashed their fists together.

"Hey, LB, we still have some time, want some ice cream!" Cat Noir said pleadingly pointing to Andre.

Ladybug sighed and smiled.

"Okay then!"

They sat on the rooftop as they ate their ice cream gazing at Paris from high above.

"Hey, Cat, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, milady, go on!"

"Say, your friend did something quite questionable and it really hurts your feelings, you're angry at them and say some things that makes you keep distance with them. After a few days, you're still angry at them as you keep at a distance but also feel guilty and want to talk, however, you're still afraid that your friend may make the same mistake all over again and can't guarantee anything yet, what would you do?"

"Honestly, LB if I were your friend, I'd never have hurt your feelings in the first place!" Cat Noir said a wink.

"_Cat_!"

"Ok, ok, jokes aside, Hmm…I actually think talking with them is the best option for now. If you feel unsure on how to trust that person, I suggest you do this, if your conversation with that person goes fine, then continue being friends as you normally were. If your conversation doesn't go completely well but that person is willing to be friends with you, talk normally with that person but don't stay as close as you were before and if the conversation goes terribly wrong, just forget it. Though, I'm hoping you don't go with the latter though." Cat Noir said nonchalantly finishing his last scoop of ice cream.

"That's not bad advice…Thank you, cat!" Ladybug replied.

"Anything for you, milady!"

Their miraculous started beeping so they soon bade each other goodbye and parted ways. After all, Marinette needed to have a little conversation with someone.

* * *

She was standing outside the locker room taking heavy breaths in and out, _she could do it!_

According to Kagami and Chloe, Adrien was in the locker room, so all she had to do was step inside and settle the awkwardness between them, hopefully, they'd make up and he'd accept his mistake as she would and everything would be okay, right?

_Okay, time to quit stalling, Marinette! Time to get some clarifications!_

Marinette slowly opened the door to the locker room and peeked inside, _okay, time t-_

Her expression froze as she hung her mouth agape, her heartbeat slow and unsteady as her eyes mirrored in shock at the scene in front of her.

Oh…Adrien was there, alright! And he was not alone! There she stood, the one and only, Lila Rossi! Oh…and she didn't stand idly either, in fact her lips were pressed to his- well-not his lips but rather the corner of his lips and her body was hurled against his.

Marinette took a step back and scowled, she did what she could, she slammed the door in their faces (which may have caught their attention), and _ran_! Ran as far as she could away from _them_!

How could she have ever thought that anything could ever be okay between them? It was only a matter of time until he was at her side too. Besides, she didn't need his faith _or_ friendship _or_ love-for the matter of fact! After all, he'd given all of that to her, oh no…what she needed is _justice_…not revenge, justice, and she'd get it, no matter what, she will give Lila what she deserves! And nobody was stopping her…not even_ Adrien Agreste_…

* * *

**I'm back and writing again! So you can expect my chapter updates to be more regular now! Also, thank you all for all your support once again as this story has gone over 200 follows! I never thought this would actually happen…**

**This chapter was short, seemed just like an extra dose of angst, but it was necessary. And don't kill me for messing up Adrienette, I promise you that Marinette and Adrien are not quite not yet…**

**(P.S. THE NEW EPISODES WERE AWESOME! ESPECIALLY LADYBUG! THAT'S NOW MY FAVOURITE EPISODE OF THE ENTIRE SHOW!)**


	6. Swinging Stella

**Chapter 6: Swinging Stella**

Ladybug sat with her knees to her chest, on the Eiffel Tower, staring blindly at the Parisian sunset, the last rays of warmth cascading upon the city were toying with her heart, melting all her worries away. To say that she loved sunsets was rather oxymoronic, she may be paralysed in the presence of them, stuck in a world with only her soul and the warmth of the sun, eventually, it would strike back at her. When the sun did set, her false hope would shatter as she would feel all her pain coming back to her spontaneously as the darkness loomed over. Unfortunately, Everything beautiful in this world had a dark side to it, one so incomprehensible.

When the sun did finally set, she got up shivering as she only became conspicuous of how cold it was just then, it was getting late...she thought, as she grabbed her yo-yo and launched it further ahead. She wished that time would stay frozen so she could stay bathing in the warmth of the sun forever, no worries, no people, no problem, just her and the warm light from the Parisian sunset...

BANG! Ladybug whirled around to the all-to familiar crashes of sound? Goodness, Hawk Moth and his akumas! They'd never let her live in peace, would they!

"I am Swinging Stella! And I will punish Gabriel Agreste for replacing me and that so-calledmodel that took my place!" boomed the akuma as she fluttered in the air, who was wearing a old-fashioned 1960s black PVC suit, go-go boots and a beret. The only thing she wore that didn't match her overall look was the silver hand chained bracelets on both her hands...that must be were the akuma resided.

Upon spotting Ladybug, she grinned a very akuma-like grin at her and glanced towards her earrings.

"Why if isn't La Femme Rouge?! Come to stop me, have you? Well, you should know that I'm not an easy catch, I'll have you chained up in no time!" Stella cackled as she extended her fingers at the bug, from which, chains from her bracelet extended by themselves similar to vines reaching themselves out to Ladybug.

Nonchalantly, she dodged the chains, as one after the other came her way, eventually the villain got sick of this game of hide-and-seek and withdrew all her chains back into her bracelet.

"I would play longer Ladybug and get your miraculous but you're not the one I really want, first, my revenge, then those precious jewels of yours, Adieu!" and with a wave of her hand, the chains entwined around her completely and with a flash of a light, she was gone.

"Where did she go?" Ladybug pondered aloud as she looked around expecting a sneak attack...but the akuma appeared to have made her exit.

* * *

"Sorry, I'm late, M'lady, I had some work to attend to." Cat Noir stated as he approached Ladybug on his baton, "so, tell me, what does this akuma think she's made of."

"She calls herself 'Swinging Stella' and appears to work for Gabriel Agreste or worked, shall I say?! She wears chained bracelets, which is where the akuma definitely is, and she can control these chains making them to inexplicable things. The problem we have at the moment is that...I don't know where she is, it's like she disappeared into thin air and I'm trying to locate her but failing, all I know is that she wants revenge from a model that took her place. And I barely know who that model is and how to protect her."

"Hmm, you know the akuma villain we have here: she must be 'Stella Beaumont' One of Gabriel Agreste's muses. Her first photo shoot revolved around 1960s fashion and it was such a success that she started occupying majority of the major photoshoots in his business. However, recently, I've heard that Mr. Agreste hired a new muse who appears to be Lila Rossi who took Stella's place in one of the photoshoots. And believe me, she wasn't happy about it; as she was eager to this particular photoshoot as the theme of it was quite close to her heart. It makes sense why she got akumatized now."

"Wait, the akuma's after Lila Rossi?!" Ladybug said indignantly and felt chills run down her spine by the sound of the name rolling off her lips.

"Yup, Lila Rossi."

"Oh-well-greeeeat! At least we know where she could be now. C'mon then, off to the Rossis' Place." Ladybug groaned as she simply thought about facing Lila again, didn't she have enough of her at school?! This was going to be a very loonnng akuma attack.

* * *

Lila Rossi sat smirking in satisfaction as she glanced at the pictures of her posing with Adrien at his latest photoshoot.

Everything was going as planned, as she hoped it would. Those goody two shoes thought they'd get the better of her?! No, she was way smarter than they'd ever imagine, to them, she may be a monster but it didn't matter as in everyone else's eyes: she was an ange-

"Had fun with the shoot, Lila Rossi?"

an unfamiliar voice echoed from behind her interrupting her thoughts.

She whirled around and saw her, the villain dressed as it was the '60s.

"W-Who are you?! What do you want?"

Lila asked in fake-vulnerability.

"All I want is revenge! And I'm gonna get it right here and right now!" The villain muttered coming closer towards, "You think you're a star now?! Well, you should be thanking me for that! It was my place you took and now you'll face the consequences."

A chain reached out towards Lila and she was about to shriek or wind up a lie to get her out of this mess but from out her window, a yo-yo grabbed her on the waist and whisked her away from this room.

* * *

Ladybug carried Lila Rossi in her arms and ran across the rooftops, taking her to safety, as much as she hated this devil of a girl, it was her duty to protect all civilians.

Ladybug landed in an dingy alleyway hoping to hide Lila from Swinging Stella.

Upon the landing, Lila jumped off from her arms and looked through the alleyway.

"Why here? You could've just dropped me at my classmate's house or something for safety, wouldn't that be better than this place." Lila asked indignantly.

"One, we don't have much time, Cat Noir can't fend off the villain forever. Two, dropping you off at a friends' place would just endanger your friends and their families, so here it is." Ladybug responded, her tone sharp and cold.

"Well, you didn't have to save me, I can fend for myself as I've been doing all these years."

"Mlle. Rossi, do you really think you can fight a akumatized girl with powers to whip up people with her enchanted chains?! Whether you like it or I like it, I have to protect you from this villain." Ladybug huffed impatiently at Lila who simply scowled in response.

Abruptly, the two heard a loud cackling coming from above them:

"You can't play forever, little cat! I will get your miraculous and my revenge!"

"She's here!" Ladybug warned and upon her superhero reflex to serve and protect, she pushed Lila into a safe hiding spot subconsciously and quickly turned around to face the villain.

"Ladybug! There you are! Hmm...now, where have you hid are guest?! I guess I'll find out when I take your miraculous!" She lunged forward throwing chains at her which she dodged.

"I'm sorry, m'lady, I couldn't fend her off for long!" Cat Noir said as he came to her side.

"It's fine. We've done what we can, now we just figure out a way to free her akuma. And I think it's time we brought some luck on our side!" Ladybug reached to towards her yoyo to toss up in the air, "LUCKY CHA-Hey!"

Ladybug glanced back in horror as a chain engulfed around her yo-yo and snatched it away, into the hands of Swinging Stella as she smiled gleefully.

"Is this yours? Want it back? Then listen to my proposition. From 15 minutes now, meet me on the Eiffel Tower with Lila Rossi only then you shall get your yo-yo back but for now, you can't win without your lucky charm, so toodles! It's your choice: your yo-yo or her? Remember, no dirty tricks!" Swinging Stella once again teleported away through her magic chains leaving Ladybug and Cat Noir in a dilemma.

"What do we do now? You don't even have your lucky charm with you! How are we going to defeat her?"

"We don't need my lucky charm to win! We just need it for the miraculous cure! But now we need a foolproof plan, and it has to be good enough so we can defeat her in one go!"

"Hmm...so what are you going to do about Lila, are you actually planning to take her to the villain, m'lady?"

"Hmm...you'll see. Don't worry, everything'll get fixed in the end. Lila will be safe."

"Where is Lila, anyways?" Cat Noir asked as he glanced around.

Ladybug suppressed a grin and opened the lid to a large recycling bin which held Lila indeed.

Lila, red and flushed, leapt out of the bin and peeled off all the wrappers and unnecessary waste that had gotten tangled in her hair and stuck on her clothes, she glared at Ladybug.

"Y-You did that on purpose, didn't you! Pushing me into this trash can!" Lila snarled.

"Me?! I don't know what you're talking about! I was only trying to protect you from the maniacal super villain that's after you!" Ladybug responding nonchalantly, trying not to seem too satisfied, "anyways we have work to do, Cat Noir, meet me with Lila at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower in 10 mins. I, meanwhile, need to do something."

Cat Noir nodded and Ladybug rushed away to seek the person she needed.

* * *

Swinging Stella sat on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower, impatiently waiting for the heroes to arrive with that little brat. She needed to take what was hers' and also needed to get the little jewellery of the heroes in one go. So far, her plan was going on splendidly.

"We're here." Ladybug boomed as she approached with Lila.

"Hmm...I know for a fact that there's a fox super-heroine that creates illusions, how do I know whether she's real?"

Ladybug sighed and touched Lila's shoulder, instead of fading away, Lila stood very well in place.

"Excellent. Now, bring her towards me!"

"First, my yo-yo?"

"Bring her towards me first."

In resignation, Ladybug brought Lila forward who struggled under Ladybug's grasp.

"How could you do this to me, Ladybug? Just because you hate me, it doesn't mean you hand me over."

"I'm sorry, I'll fix everything soon, okay?"

Swinging Stella grinned mischievously as Ladybug stood opposite her with Lila.

"Ladybug, you know this could end right now, gimme your miraculous and I won't lay a hand on her."

"After fishing for your revenge so much, I'm not just going to believe that you're going to give up after I give you my miraculous."

"Very well. Ladybug." Swinging Stella retorted as she threw the yo-yo on the floor in front of her.

Instead of Ladybug reaching out for it, Lila bent down and snatched the yo-yo into her arms with a grin on her face.

"Thank you, Swinging Stella!"

"LILA?! W-What are you doing?" Ladybug gasped in horror as she glanced towards Lila and the villain.

"I told you already, Ladybug, that I can get out of my own messes." Lila smirked and clutched the yo-yo close to her heart, "I may have snuck away from my hiding spot whilst you were trying to figure out how to get your yo-yo back with Cat Noir and I made a deal with the villain here. I'll give up being Gabriel's muse for YOUR DOWNFALL!"

"Y-you can't go around making deals with super villains! That's low! You could get arrested for that!"

"As if! Even you, Ladybug, can't out me!"

Ladybug scowled as Lila flaunted her yo-yo to her face.

"You're supposed to be way smarter than this, Ladybug! Looks like all your wits only come from your lucky charm! Too bad that you can't reach it! Now, you're defenceless and alone with us. So, for the last time, give us your miraculous or we'll just snatch it for you very painfully." Swinging Stella smiled as she raised her wrists threateningly.

Ladybug glanced towards Lila and Swinging Stella's indifference. She hung her head in defeat.

"Fine, you can have my miraculous." Ladybug sighed, "...only if it were real."

"What?" Swinging Stella yelped as she reached out to take Ladybug's earrings but upon touch, the bug faded away. "An illusion? But how..."

Swinging Stella glanced towards Lila who stood smiling triumphantly with the yo-yo in her hands.

"Like they say...never trust strangers." Lila said with a ghost of a grin on her lips, her disguise faded away leaving the true owner of the yo-yo in place,

"Y-you tricked me, Ladybug. You'll pay!"

"Hmm...really now, well, I've got my yo-yo back and I can use my lucky charm. What did you say again about my low wits and that I'm useless without my power?"

Swinging Stella scowled and raised her arms ready to shoot chains at her but was then hit sharply by her baton sending her off to the side.

"Woah...woah...you're forgetting that the Cat is always with his lady!" Cat Noir mused as he came to Ladybug's side.

"Oh, hey! And don 't forget me." boomed Rena Rou-no, the not Rena Rouge-her outfit had a different style to it and her hair was blonde with orange highlights.

"Good job, Vixen! This miraculous complements you quite well!"

"No problem, Ladybug. Thank you for entrusting me with this!"

Swinging Stella got up and stood face-to-face with the heroes, her eyes burned with fury.

"There may be 3 of you now but I can still fight."

"Oh, we'll see about that. Now, where was I? Ah, right! LUCKY CHARM!"

* * *

"MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!" Ladybug yelled as she threw her lucky charm in the air. They did it. They defeated the handful of that villain. "Pound It!"

She clashed her fists with Cat Noir and Vixen.

"It's time we part our ways, Cat Noir will you please Lila home, she's still at the bottom of The Eiffel Tower."

"Er-I'm out of time, m'lady! Besides that girl can walk herself, there's no villain at her chase anymore!"

"Yeah, you're right! She's definitely not been deemed traumatised enough to be incapable of walking home. Adieu, mon chaton!"

Ladybug waved.

"Adieu, m'lady." Cat leapt away on his baton.

Ladybug turned to Vixen and rushed her away.

"Thanks once again for entrusting me with a miraculous, Ladybug! I didn't think I'd be allowed to be a superhero again."

"I said you can't be Queen Bee! But you can still wield another miraculous!"

"Yh, I'm happy! Though, I couldn't count on the fact that my very first mission as Vixen included saving Lila!"

"I know, what a bummer, I feel sorry for you."

"Ladybug, you disguised yourself as Lila and fooled the villain. She actually believed you, without doubting you for a second...how?"

"I know Lila and I know Hawk Moth, even he knows Lila's manipulative tendencies and would do anything to get the miraculous."

"Right. So, according to you, Hawk Moth would make Lila his evil sidekick if he could."

"Yeah, right, he could."

"Wow...imagine if she was actually his secret sidekick. She's already a liar enough at school. I can't possibly imagine her being an evil sidekick, she would be a nightmare. Luckily, she's not one."

"Luckily, she's not." Ladybug nodded as she glanced away into the distance. She may have approached the villain as Lila to retrieve her yo-yo back with the Illusion Bug. However, one thing's for sure, she hadn't made that deal with Swinging Stella for her downfall..._but she knew perfectly well who did._

* * *

**Yup...it's me and my messy update schedule! Yeah!At this point, let's pretend the S3 Finale and Ladybug never happened in my story.I may still include Felix or Cat Blanc references though..**.


	7. It's All A Lie

**Chapter 7: It's All A Lie**

Marinette leant against the wall waiting for Kagami and Chloe to arrive. People would pass by and shoot her ugly glances now and then, she was trying her sheer best to ignore them as much as possible but there was always this lingering sense of uneasiness inside her that she couldn't let go of, no matter what. Honestly, the only reason she went to the school anymore was for her education, not to mention, Chloe and Kagami.

Letting a few breaths in and out, she felt Tikki's comforting pats coming from inside her purse, to which she smiled and straightened up. She was Ladybug: superhero of Paris, she couldn't let little things get to her so easily.

Speaking of being a superhero, she planned to meet Master Fu soon to warn him about Lila and her tendency to...assist a super-villain in his wrongdoing.

Yes, she hadn't forgotten the fight with Swinging Stella. Lila had taken advantage of her position and manipulated the villain so easily into a deal which put her hot on the heroes' track. If Ladybug hadn't spotted the little exchange, she'd never have really known how cruel and ruthless Lila's intentions really were.

"Good morning, Marinette!" Kagami greeted coming forwards as she leant on the wall beside her.

"Good morning, Kagami! How was your tournament yesterday?"

"I won it as usual and got my 22nd medal!"

"Lovely. Way to go, Kagami!" Marinette congratulated.

From the corner of her eye, she spotted Chloe coming from behind Kagami. Just as she was about to say 'hi'. Chloe put her fingers to her lips beckoning Marinette to be quiet. She mouthed 'glomp attack' to Marinette to which she smirked.

"Thank you, Marinette! Though, I'm sure tha-" On instinct, without whirling around, Kagami grabbed Chloe's arm and hurled her to the ground to her side and finally turned to face her.

"HEY!" Chloe yelped as she came to sit with her legs out, "How did you do that?"

"Reflex. I can tell when a person is approaching to strike from behind me. So none of your silly little jokes will work on me." Kagami said ever-so teasingly.

"You should've seen your face, Chloe!" Marinette laughed at Chloe's hurled figure to the ground.

"Not funny ." Chloe groaned as she got up pouting at the other two who were laughing at her, she pat her clothes clean and went to stand to the other side of Marinette, leant against the wall.

"Anyways, did anyone see the news footage of the akuma attack yesterday?"

Chloe asked.

"Swinging Stella. Yeah...she was a rather odd akuma." Kagami responded

"What did you think of the new fox, Vixen?" Chloe asked and Marinette caught the all-too familiar gleam in her eyes.

"She was an unexpected appearance but nonetheless she did help Ladybug defeat the villain...though I wonder what happened to the other fox, Rena Rouge?"

Kagami questioned looking forward.

"Hmm...I wonder as well..."

"For the least we know, Rena Rouge might not have been available during the time." Marinette uttered looking to her feet. After all, the real reason was that she wasn't ready to trust any of the other temporary heroes anymore.

"Yeah...valid." Kagami nodded.

"Ugh...look who showed up." Chloe muttered pointing ahead.

"Lie-la." All three of them retorted simultaneously as they glanced towards the brunette dragging Adrien along with her.

She whispered something slyly into Adrien's ear and rushed away.

Adrien turned to face the three girls and began to approach them.

"Hey...Chloe...Kagami...Marinette." Adrien said anxiously to the 3.

Chloe simply looked to examine her nails in response whilst Kagami looked to the side. However, Marinette glanced straight into his eyes stern and inexpressive.

"So...how are you doing?" Adrien asked ignoring their unreciprocated greeting.

It was then when Chloe looked up, and snapped:

"Stop pretending everything's fine, Adrikins! You know it isn't! And I still don't get why you hang out with that little-ugh-liar!"

"But everything still can be fine, right?" Adrien questioned innocently.

Chloe shook her head, huffed and looked away. It was then Kagami's turn to comment.

"Everything still can be fine? I don't understand what you're talking about Adrien. The 'she' has plunged a war between us and it's time you choose sides."

"What I'm saying is that this doesn't have to be a war. You can fix things without hurting and humiliating her."

"Adrien, taking the high road has done no good in the past and we're not doing that again. Good day to you." Kagami looked away disappointedly.

"Marinette." Adrien breathed as he turned to look at her, "are you sure this is what you really want? Cutting off everyone, not trying to set things right appropriately and running after Lila all the time?! Is this really what makes you happy?"

Marinette didn't respond she merely crossed her arms, and looked to the side, her chin resting on her shoulder, her vision of eyesight trailing downwards.

Adrien sighed and placed his hand atop of hers.

"Is this really what you want, Marinette?"

Upon touch, Marinette raised her head and gasped, with her pupils dilated and skin pale. They stood like that for a few moments before she snapped out of the trance and gently removed her hand from under his.

"I think I know what exactly I want. Thank you, Adrien." She said briefly meeting eye-contact with him before approaching to gaze at the floor.

Adrien opened his mouth to respond but just then-

"Adrikins! I'm back." Lila came running over pulling him into an embrace from behind.

Now, this caught all 3 of the girls' attention, they turned to venomously glare at Lila.

"Now, you can come help me with Science notes. I'm lagging behind again." Lila chirped.

"Er-Yeah-sure." Adrien said awkwardly slightly bulging away from her.

"Oh, Thank you! Let's go!" Lila dragged Adrien away who glanced back to the trip and waved at them.

Chloe, Marinette and Kagami stood frozen as they watched Lila drag Adrien across the courtyard. Their disability of movement only recovered when the two were out of sight.

"Adrikins?! ADRIKINS! She stole my nickname! I came up with that first." Chloe puffed stomping one foot against the ground, "why does he even hang around her anyways? I don't get it!"

"Let's just go to class, Chloe. I don't want anymore awkward encounters out in the courtyard. See you later, Kagami!"

"See you!" Kagami waved and they parted ways.

* * *

Adrien sat on his bench beside Lila, who was chatting with Alya from above. He sighed and looked to the table.

School had become dead and lifeless. His class had lost the genuine joy it once had a few weeks ago ever since the Kitty Section's performance mishap. Everyone was trapped, under the influence of the one girl that sat beside her. He, himself, hated going along with everything she did around here. But he had no choice, he needed to go along with her even if he didn't like it. For it was the only way he could put an end to her reign. After all, they did say 'keep your friends close but your enemies closer'.

His gaze drifted to his right towards where Marinette and Chloe were sitting.

_Everything will be alright, Marinette, I promise._

* * *

He stood outside the locker room clutching his fencing gear. Waiting for her appearance.

As soon as she came out, she beckoned her to the side.

"Kagami. We need to talk."

"Look, Adrien, if this is about taking the high road again then I'm going to-"

"No, no, it's not. But it's important."

"Important? Can I actually even trust the words you're saying anymore? After all, you're in the presence of a totally pathological liar majority of the time."

"I know everything seems really convoluted right now but I'll clarify everything. Just listen, okay."

"Hmm...fine then. Say what you gotta say."

"I will but not here. Say, how much time before your mother comes to pick you up?"

"In about 20 minutes."

"Perfect. Let's have a stroll in the park then."

Adrien offered his arm to Kagami which she accepted and they trotted away.

* * *

"I assume that we have come to a more suitable location for your little conversation then."

"Yes. Much better place. But just in case, don't raise your voice too much , I don't want anyone eavesdropping on this."

"So, what's this exactly about?" Kagami questioned arching her brows.

"It's about Lila...and Marinette."

"Hmm...yeah the obvious. What exactly about them?"

"Lila's not exactly who she seems to be, okay?"

"Well, that's also obvious. She's called Lie-la for a reason, right!"

"Wait, I wasn't done yet." Adrien ushered, "she's someone who you shouldn't underestimate and she knows exactly what she's doing and who to associate with. Her intentions seem petty but her greater goal is way bigger than that. She may be a manipulative liar but she's also smart enough to know her stuff."

"Okay...would you please stop beating around the bush and come to the direct point."

"Okay, she lies to people for attention, the ones who believe her are with her but the others are lost and threatened by her, she makes sure that they're friends turn against them if they don't listen. Just like what she did to Marinette."

"Adrien, for the love of god, stop beating around the bush!"

"Hey, I am getting to the point! So..." Adrien looked to his sides ensuring no one could here, "what I'm trying to say that is Lila's actually not supposed to be here at all."

"What do you mean? I still don't get it.

"Lila doesn't exist. Her name is not Lila Rossi. She's not Italian. She has a completely fake identity. And her mother isn't really her mother either. It was all a lie."

"How, how is that possible? How do you even know this?"

"I'll tell you how I know later cuz' all that matters now is that she's dangerous, one who masks herself underneath so many lies must held dirty secrets beneath it. And right now, this liar is hot on Marinette's heels trying to make her life miserable. Marinette's not alright and was never alright. We need to put a stop to this liar, find out who she really is and what she wants. Kagami, will you help me?"

"Yes, Adrien. I wouldn't be willing to do anything more."

"Perfect. Operation Unmask the Fox is on the go. But before we begin, you need know the whole story, each and every detail."

* * *

**Short Chapter.**

**But next chapter is going to be way better and longer.**

**Also, I know Lila not being 'Lila' is a bit crazily random. But it was actually one of Thomas's tweets that gave me the idea. He implied Lila to be lying of her identity in that tweet.**


	8. Operation Unmask the Fox

**Chapter 8: Operation Unmask the Fox**

* * *

_2 weeks ago_

Adrien walks through the corridor, anxiously fiddling with the strap of his bag. Lila had always been a pain in the neck, her cunning and manipulative intellect always helping her get what she wants but this time she had gone too _far_.

Going as far as sabotaging Kitty Section's concert and editing a picture in order to make Marinette look guilty _wasn't okay_. Sweet, amazing, generous, Marinette worked so hard to design the costumes for the concert! And, what happened? the concert was cancelled with the blame on her head? It was mere **cruelty**. Adrien couldn't live to see Marinette suffering like this, she, of all people, didn't deserve it, Lila shouldn't have crossed this line, she had set a new record for herself.

Adrien's thought process froze as he heard silent sobs from the corner. He turned around to see Lila, who was crying with her face buried in her hands, though, it was unclear whether she was crying or 'crying'.

His inner kindness kicked in anyways as his feet begrudgingly left to approach her.

"Er…Lila, is everything okay?"

Lila looked up from her fingers, saw Adrien and pulled him in for an embrace as she sobbed into his shirt. (ugh…he better wash that now).

"_Ohhh_! Adrien! You should've seen it! S-She did a number on me!"

"Who, now?"

Lila dug through her purse and took her phone out, playing a recording for him to hear.

'_You know what, Lila! You make me sick, you're just an angry little attention-seeking girl who likes to spread all the misery in the world!'_

"Marinette". Lila 'croaked' as she sobbed harder into his shirt. Wincing, Adrien gently pushed her away.

"Lila. That recording is taken out of context. I'm afraid I can't, and I won't believe anything you see unless I experience it right in front of my eyes!"

"B-But, s-she d-did, M-Marinette…I swear upon the tears in my eyes."

"Yeah…you really are an amazing actor, Lila, I'm sure the drama club would accept you with this performance!"

Lila dropped her act as she rubbed her 'tears' away and scowled.

"Fine. If you don't do what I want, then I'll _make you _do what I want!"

She fiddled through the contents of her purse and took out a small key.

"Do you know what this is?" She asked menacingly with her snake-like eyes narrowing in mischief, a look which meant she was up to no good.

"No?"

"Hmph! Well, you should! It's a duplicate of Marinette's locker key, not the exact one, but it works all the same." Lila said twiddling with key in her fingers, "you know, I could just open it anytime and forget my fox pendant in there. Mr. Damocles wouldn't be very happy knowing that she committed thievery alongside with vandalism, at this point, she could get expelled or even go to pri- "

"Lila, you're going too far. Stop hurting Marinette!"

"Fine, I will." She said with a gleam in her eyes, "but first you'll have to do something for me in order to keep her safe."

Adrien narrowed her eyes at her, he really didn't like where this was going but he didn't really have a choice.

"Deal."

"Marvellous, now, do just as I say." Lila smirked that evil smirk, the very one that made Adrien's spine shiver.

* * *

_"ADRIEN AGRESTE! Listen to me! Look, I did say that but I'm not bullying her! Besides, Lila twisted my conversation and recorded it, like usual. If you're going to turn against me and believe her over me then fine! Do it! Our friendship is over!"_

_"Marine- "_

_"No. I don't want to hear it. I thought you would understand me, believe me, trust me but no, even you're not on my side, and I can't afford to have my heart shattered all over again, so I'm done with you and anyone else here."_

_"But, wai- "_

_"Oh…and don't bother to sit beside me in class and apologise, it won't work, you should rather sit with her!" Marinette snarled and started to walk away._

_"MARINETTE, WAIT!" Adrien yelled after her._

He looked after her as she scurried away, out of sight. Every inch of his body felt weak and limp, threaded with sheer guilt, how could he have done this to her?

"Well done." The all-too familiar voice of malice came from behind him, "you actually did it."

Adrien scowled and turned around. He was shaking. Shaking with rage at the truly cruel soul in front of him.

"You…you said you wouldn't hurt her."

Lila cackled and stepped forward, placing a finger on his lips and her other arm came to circle his waist.

"Oh, I won't." Lila smirked, "but you will, and you'll definitely comply."

His brows narrowed even further. Never in his life had he wanted to hurt a person so badly…he felt like transforming into Cat Noir, summoning his cataclysm and using it on her! But…he couldn't. She was right. He had no choice, he had to comply.

"Now, now, my pet, that was only the beginning." She says maliciously removing her finger from his lips as she hurled that hand around his neck, "there's far more to come!"

Then she leans in and presses her ghastly lips to the edge of his jaw trailing butterfly kisses along his skin in satisfaction tightening her grip on his waist and neck.

_He hated it. Every moment of it. She was cruel, malefic and disgusting. But he had to comply for now, he was an Agreste, he'd find a way out of it. For now, he'd endure her. For Marinette._

* * *

_Present_

"Wait, she actually threatened you and Marinette like…that?" Kagami gasped in horror.

"Yes, it was bad. She really doesn't stop to get what she wants."

"This is not okay. Not okay at all! She sexually harassed you, Adrien, we can't let her get away with that."

"I know, by 'it was bad' I meant it was the worst thing I've ever been through. She's worse than Hawk Moth! Getting her way so easily without even getting caught? H-how?" Adrien shuddered, "she's good at what she does, and she won't stop for her goals even for a second. She's dangerous, we need to stop her."

"I know…we will." Kagami assured him giving him a gentle pat on the shoulder, "So…how did you find out that she was faking her identity?"

"Oh…I read it in her journal."

"She has a journal? Pretty dangerous thing to have when you're 99% of lies."

"I know. But all good criminals have their flaws." Adrien says, "anyways, I caught her writing in it one day and I got curious about what she secrets she hides in it. When she wasn't around, I snuck into her bag and read the first page of it and wow…there it was, right on the page: explanations of her fake identity. She doesn't really state anything specific on the page about who she really is…even in her journal, she tried her best to keep all her secrets from coming out."

"Well…we need to know those exact secrets. Who she is? Where does she comes from? And why is she faking everything?" Kagami states, "hmm…do you mind if we let one more person into our operation?"

"As long as they are very trustworthy and don't go by the name 'Marinette' then 'yes'."

"Amazing. Then we'll get our third recruit in! Operation Unmask the Fox is on the go!"

* * *

"WHAT?!" Chloe screams on her bed as she tries to process everything Kagami and Adrien just told her, "she's actually a f-fake?"

"Yes. And she's hot on Marinette's heels which is bad. We need to uncover that disguise she's wearing, any ideas?" Kagami asks lounging on Chloe's couch.

"Duh…this isn't a crime show with oblivious and stupid characters, a girl's secrets lay all in her lair a.k.a. her room if we snuck in there, we'll definitely get some dirt on her."

"Yes, Chloe, but how exactly are we going to do that? We can't exactly just barge in." Adrien says.

"Haha…Adrikins, you have no idea who you're talking to! I'm an expert in breaking into people's rooms, done it for years! I have the perfect plan just trust me."

"Okay?" Kagami and Adrien exchange glances in uncertainty.

"You don't trust me? Fine." Chloe sits up straight, "tomorrow, during lunchtime, you'll see how fast I'll get you in and out of Lila's room in no absolute time."

* * *

Kagami, Adrien and Chloe stood peeking out from the opposite lane to Lila's house waiting for-

"Er-Chloe, what exactly are we waiting for, again?"

"Patience, Adrikins! Patience!"

Kagami sighed indignantly in impatience as Adrien shot Chloe a baffled look.

Abruptly, a limousine parks itself in front of Lila's house and out, steps Audrey Bourgeois.

"Chloe, what's your mother doing here?"

"Hush, hush, now's our cue in, follow me!" Chloe says as she sprints forward to her mother with a confused Adrien and Kagami in her heels.

"Chloe! There you are." Audrey says as she waves at her, "now, it's time to put on the act, right?"

"Yes, mom. We shall begin."

Audrey turns towards the door presses her finger to the doorbell standing tall and proud.

"I still don't get it." Kagami says befuddled.

"Ugh, you lot, just shut up and do as I say. Chloe Bourgeois knows what's best!"

The door opens revealing Lila's 'mother'. Now, this was their chance in.

"Er-he-Audrey Bourgeois?"

"Yes! Queen of Fashion! I'd like to talk about how your daughter, Lila Rossi, is simply a visionary!"

"M-my daughter?"

"Yes, she's Gabriel's new muse, right, and I think she's simply stunning, I'd like to have a word about her future career options in the path of fashion and fame, care to let me in?"

"Of course, come on in." Lila's mother says stepping aside to let her in.

"Er-before, we commence, I'd like you to meet my daughter and her friends, they're classmates of Lila and simply adore her!"

Chloe steps forward, smiles at Ms. Rossi and starts her dramatic babble.

"Lila is amazing! Magnificent, in fact! Nice, talented, extraordinary, it's like she was born to model, those expressions, her beauty…wow! She's amazing!"

"Oh-um, thank you, Miss. Bourgeois." Ms. Rossi says with a slight smile.

"Oh please! Lila's mother should be calling me Chloe!"

"Well, that's very sweet of you, Chloe. And I presume these are your friends." Ms. Rossi's eyes fall on Kagami and Adrien who sheepishly look at her.

"Oh-yes-we're al-also friends of Lila! In fact, she works for my father's brand and I think she's amazing. One of the most talented people I've ever met." Adrien says joining in on Chloe's little game.

"OH-WAIT? You're Adrien Agreste, aren't you? Lila's boyfriend? She talks a lot about you!"

"H-her boyfriend?" Adrien stutters in disbelief before correcting his mistake, "Y-yes, I'm her boyfriend! That's the one! Hey!"

"Wonderful! It's lovely to finally meet you, dear." Ms. Rossi says, "now, who's this one?"

"Oh, I'm Kagami. Lila helped me in a rather tough situation at school, she was my first friend and helped me feel less lonely. She's really very sweet."

"I'm glad to hear that Lila made quite the impression on you, she always was a little angel, that one!" her mother smiles, "well, we don't want to be standing here for long. Come on in."

* * *

With fake smiles and squeals, the group entered the house. Audrey Bourgeois talked with Lila's 'mother' in the front with the trio of teenagers on their heels.

"Lila's boyfriend, huh?!" Kagami says teasingly.

"Ew…stop it, Kagami! That's never going to happen. Focus on the mission!"

"Right. I'll tease you later."

"WOW!" Chloe says stopping midway at a door, "is the Lila's room! It's lovely! the design, the style, I wish my room was as as hers'."

"Well, you three may have a look around, I'm sure she wouldn't mind." Ms. Rossi says politely.

"Oh, thank you, miss, you are so nice!" Kagami says.

"You all are nice too, dear, now, hush hush, have some fun." Ms. Rossi says and walks towards the living room with Ms. Bougeois ranting about Lila's future career options in her company.

Once out of sight, the trio snuck in the room, in elation and on their toes.

"Finally. It's time to search the girl's secret lair, try not to make too much of a mess, guys!"

"Obviously not. We know how to cover up our tracks, Kagami!"

The three split their work: Kagami searched underneath Lila's mattresses, pillows and rugs; Chloe searched the drawers and cupboards and Adrien searched the most inconspicuous and secluded places of the room. They tried not to make too much noise nor too less noise, they didn't want to ring any suspicion into the mother's mind. They went about with occasional 'found anything?'; 'what's the time' and so on. Ensuring that Ms. Rossi wasn't right in the corner to spot them rummaging around Lila's room but apparently, she seemed to have been involved more in career options than anything else now.

"Er-g-guys!" Chloe croaked peeking inside a cupboard about 15 mins in on their search.

"What is it, Chloe?" Adrien asks stepping forward, "found anythi-oh!"

Adrien freezes as he glances at the picture that Chloe found.

"Is that who I think it is?" Kagami asks sternly as she peeps through.

Adrien takes the picture in his trembling hands and gazes at it more clearly, his fingers brushing the edges. Then, he cautiously flips it over making them all gasp.

"There's writing."

The three huddle around the picture slowly reading over the words written down in unison.

They stop. Freeze.

"Oh. My. God. Did I-I just read _that_?" Chloe mouths aloud, "w-what d-do we do now?"

Adrien and Kagami exchange glances, shock etched in their eyes, for all went crazy and mad in just a moment.

* * *

**Hahaha…who's in the pic? Any guesses? Why are they so shocked? What could they have read?**

**Moreover, I fully give you permission to punch Lila out of this fic. We've all had enough of her.**


	9. A-A Date?

**Chapter 9: A-A Date?**

Marinette lay back on the bench as she took bored bites into her sandwich. Chloe and Kagami had abandoned her as they were apparently 'busy'. (She definitely wasn't sitting in the cafeteria...Lie-la was there...no way).

Her loneliness nagged her for the first time in ages, without her hatred for Lila overflowing in her brain. The full weight of her classmates' betrayal was sinking in, she still had Chloe and Kagami with her but somehow...she felt...incomplete.

"Hey. You're alone today."

Marinette jumped at the sound of the voice, she glanced to her side to see Luka seated beside her, his serene blue eyes bore into hers with that adoring smile on his face.

"Oh, h-hey? Sorry I didn't notice you. I sorta spaced out."

"I can see that." He chuckled teasingly as she bashfully looked away.

"S-so, what brings you here?" Marinette asked him.

"I was going home to practice a new piece of mine, actually, that's when I saw you here sitting all alone, is everything alright?"

"Oh-um-yeah! Everything's...the regular...and I'm alone today cuz' both Chloe and Kagami are at home for lunch."

"So, in that case, would you want to come over and hear my new piece?"

"Oh-um-well." She hesitated.

"In case you're wondering, Juleka and the rest are not there, they're in the art room today for lunch, so it'll be just you and me."

"Well, in that case, I don't mind." She giggled as he reached his hand out for her (which she took) and they rode away to his place on his bicycle.

* * *

Adrien glanced back to the picture of his cousin and his aunt, his fingers trembling as he re-read the note, the words in British English:

_Dear Maya,_

_I hope you're alright and that our plan's still in tact. Unfortunately, this is the last note I'll be writing for some time now._

_But don't worry, your brother and I will be coming back to Paris again soon, and this time we'll make sure our meeting happens, as you know, last time, your uncle's watchful behaviour didn't work out well. Though I credit you for sending him on the path we exactly wanted him to go on and because of you and your brother's efforts, we finally have one ring at our hands. We can only hope for the other, Maya._

_But I wish the best for you and I hope that everything works out._

_Love,_

_Your mother,_

_AGDV._

He sat crouched on the ground as he felt his whole body shivering with rage, fear and betrayal.

_Why?_

_Why?_

_How?_

"Are you okay?" Kagami asked him as she went to sit beside him on the floor.

"I-I just don't get it, how could Lila be my aunt's daughter? My cou-" He paused. The word was like venom to his lips, "why didn't I know about this? Why is she even here?" his voice leaked with frustration as he tugged on the strands of his air.

"You know how they mentioned the rings, right? What did they mean?" Chloe questioned.

"My parents' wedding rings. That would make so much sense. Aunt Amelie was too intrigued by them in her last visit. But, according to this letter, they have one of the rings? When and how did they get it? Also, I'm not surprised my father didn't bother to mention that his wedding ring was missing." Adrien mumbled.

"There are still more pieces to the puzzle that we don't know but this is big! Bigger than we thought it was!"

"I know! I'm just really annoyed at the moment. Confused? More like frustrated!" he yelped as he abruptly sprung onto his feet, "why would Aunt Amelie keep Lila a secret? Why would they deviously construct a plan behind our backs? Why would they want the rings in the first place? And why go after Marinette? This has been going on for some time and I didn't even know about it! I trusted my aunt and cousin despite what Felix did last time and this whole time, they've been hiding their secret daughter and plotting behind our backs! I feel so-ugh!" He threw the letter across the room.

"Hey," Chloe rushed to stand beside him, "it's not your fault, Adrikins. They are your family and family's hard to suspect or to believe in any of the bad things they do, trust me, I've learned it the hard way. All we can do now is find the bigger piece to the puzzle, what they really want, that is."

"Yeah, we mustn't give up hope. Remember, we have the advantage now...and based on what we learnt, it's time to move onto the next part of our plan." Kagami stated as she stood up to pick up the letter and to take a picture of it. Eventually, putting it back where they found it.

"Yeah, but this isn't about Lila anymore!This has become much bigger than that! Now...that my family's involved!"

"Baby steps, Adrikins, baby steps. Now, we got the information we needed. The difficult part of our original plan is gonna start building up, are you ready for it?"

Adrien blinked and looked towards his side as if fascinated by the wall. He sighed and eventually faced forward, his eyes burning with determination.

"Yes."

* * *

Marinette sat on the little seat on the Couffaine houseboat, with Luka playing his guitar, seated to her side. The music was refreshing and sweet, beautiful and calm, just like all of Luka's works. As he finished the song, he looked up and smiled at her which she gladly reciprocated.

"Wow, it's wonderful!" She beamed, "As...usual! Where does the inspiration for this piece come from?"

"Actually...it's inspiration comes from _you_."

_"Me?"_ She asked in awe as she felt the heat rushing up to her cheeks and her heart fluttering with warmth.

"Yeah. Everyone has a song inside them. And I've been working on yours for some time now and I think I've finally found _the right tune_." he said, his eyes meeting hers at the last few words. Her smile widened in awe, and she felt flattered, she really did. But a part of her was selfish in her choices...as she kept seeing those blue eyes of his in a different colour.

* * *

"So...how exactly are we going to recruit Marinette into Operation Unmask The Fox?" Adrien questioned.

"Simple. Just tell her the truth like you did with the two of us." Chloe replied.

"Yeah...but..." Adrien squeezed the pillow from Chloe's chaise, "you and I both know that's not simple. Things between me and her have been...complicated."

"Look. Things won't get better if you hesitate. Adrien. It's now or never, you want to be friends with her again, right?" Kagami asked.

"I do, more than anything else right now." he said gazing bashfully at his hands as Chloe and Kagami exchanged glances all-too-knowingly.

"Yeah...and now we have more dirt on Lila, we need to stop her from doing what she's planning to do and for that, we need Marinette to understand our plan. If she doesn't know about Operation Unmask The Fox anymore, you'll just keep hurting her even more."

"Okay...so how exactly is this going to happen?"

"Not really sure. But I'll make sure all four of us will be here after school today and she'll have to hear us out at the very least."

"Well...I hope she doesn't go screaming and running away as soon as she sees me." Adrien whined into his pillow.

"Everything will be fine, Adrikins! Trust me, it'll be difficult at first but things will get better soon." Chloe grinned.

"Oh...look...lunch time's almost over, time we get back to school." Kagami jumped in as she stood showing them the time from her phone.

"Oh great...after all we learned, I don't think I'll survive last period, especially with Lila sitting right across me." Chloe groaned.

"Across you? She's sitting right beside me! I'll have to endure more of this hell." Adrien said face-palming onto his pillow.

"Okay, let's not get pessimistic. After today, Operation Unmask The Fox will be on the go!" Kagami chirped.

"And so will Operation Adrienette." Chloe said smirking .

"Operation Adrie-what?!" Adrien questioned arching his brow obliviously as he sat upright.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." She said exchanging a sly look with Kagami. _Oh...Operation Adrienette will be on the go, alright!_

* * *

"Thanks for dropping me off, Luka." Marinette said with a smile as she got up, off the bicycle in front of school.

"No problem, I'm glad you could join me for lunch today." Luka beamed.

"Thanks for inviting me." Marinette's smile widened.

They stood there for a bit staring at each other and smiling.

"Oh well..." Marinette stated snapping them out of the trance, "looks like I'll have to go now."

She turned around proceeding towards the steps, only to pause and whirl around when she heard Luka's voice call after her.

"Marinette, wait!" He called, shyly looked away to a corner and fixed his eyes on hers once again, "Lunch was fun...I was wondering if you'd like to hang out again today after school perhaps like a ride on my bicycle with me."

"Like a-a date?" Marinette said and immediately heated up at her question.

"Only if you wanted it to be one." Luka said giving her one of the most sincere smiles ever.

"I..." Marinette hesitated, unsure of her answer, her first instinct was to say 'no' that she was still conflicted between him and Adrie-until she remembered she wasn't really speaking to Adrien anymore, and that she _so_ didn't have feelings for him anymore, and that she was mad at him. So, was there really a problem in saying yes?Luka wasn't a bad candidate, he was rather the opposite. Maybe she could actually have a good chance with him.

"I-I think it's a great idea." Marinette responded with a grin.

"Great. I'll be waiting for you right over here after school, see you!" Luka said beaming as he went to park his bicycle.

She looked after him and her insides tingled.

_She was happy that she accepted her date with Luka but the selfish and stupid part of her still tightened with unease. It still wished that the eyes of the boy she looked into moments ago were a different colour._

* * *

**Oooo...this chapter is quite shippy with a lot of contradictions, right?**

**Yep...I know that a lot of you are mad at me for leaving you off on a cliffhanger for like 2 months!**

**But don't worry, I promise I'll make it up to y'all by posting more chapters in the coarse of these few weeks, you'll see ; )**


	10. Complicated Choices

**Chapter 10: Complicated Choices**

The last class was over and Marinette was rushing through the courtyard to meet Luka for their..._maybe date?_ She still didn't know how to feel. Was she making the right choice or was she rushing? Life was complicated.

"Hey, Marinette! Wait up!" Chloe's voice called from behind her, with Kagami at her heels.

"Hi, Chloe, Kagami." She said smiling, and then realised that she had forgot to tell them that she was meeting up with Luka, "You see...I..."

She hesitated. She couldn't understand why though.

"I need to tell you something." Marinette, Chloe and Kagami said in sync. They exchanged glances with widened eyes. Yeah...they so didn't want to participate in the Ultimate Staring Challenge.

"You know what...you guys go first!" Marinette said raising her hands and stepping backwards.

"Thank you for that! I thought, for a sec, I had to play polite." Chloe said sighing in relief, "Anyways, we really need to talk! And by talk, I mean 'Oh, we really need to have a nice and long chat without any...intruders.' So then! You. Me. Kagami. At My Place. Now!"

"Wait..._now?_" Marinette asked twitching her lip.

"Yes. _Now_ would be the most ideal time." Kagami replied.

"Oh...well...you see..." Marinette chuckled anxiously, "Now, I have to-er-meet up with Luka for _a ride on his bike_!"

"_A ride on his bike_?" Chloe and Kagami both asked with arched brows suspiciously. Though, Chloe's voice had more venom to it. She had no idea what that was about?

"Yeah..." She replied feeling a bit stupid under their suspicious eyes.

"A ride on his bike or a date?" Kagami finally questioned. _Really, Kagami? Why do you have to be so blunt!_

"A-a date? What? _Nooo_!" Marinette denied, to which, Chloe and Kagami stared at her in disbelief...seriously, they wouldn't let her get out of this one!

"Okay! Okay! Fine! It could be a _date_?" Marinette accepted, "but that's not the point, the point is that I need to go now! Bailing on him like that wouldn't be nice...he's waiting outside, you know. We could talk later! Perhaps, tomorrow?"

"This is urgent!" Chloe snapped and by her tone...it seemed like it but...

"Is it that urgent?" Marinette asked turning to Kagami. She somehow felt that getting an answer out of Chloe would feel _biased_.

"Well...you could go on your date. But, after that! We should meet in an hour at Chloe's place." Kagami said smiling genuinely.

"Fine with me!" Marinette beamed.

"Okay then. Have fun at your date! We'll see ya!" Kagami waved.

"Yeah...Have fun." Chloe said hoarsely, the venom coming back to her voice, her hands crossed against her chest.

"Uh-okay then! See ya, guys!" Marinette bade them goodbye and hurried away...she didn't want to keep Luka waiting forever! Maybe, this date would be fun!

* * *

"Ugh. Adrikins doesn't have that long. His father would want him home as quick as possible! Now, we have to wait for Marinette's date to get over!" Chloe whined kicking the empty car seat in front of her.

"No worries. Adrien could just inform his dad that our friend is running late and the 'project' is taking longer than usual." Kagami responded seated beside Chloe in her car.

"What about your mom, then?"

"Way ahead of you, told her we'd be running late, and surprisingly, she gave me an extra hour! But, that's probably because Adrien's there."

"Right though. Why did she have to have a date today? The quicker we're done with this conversation the better." Chloe groaned.

"Is this about the date or the conversation?" Kagami asked with a hint of a smile.

"Hey, not my problem, you know, I'm just not a fan of Lukanette. For me, it's Team Adrienette all the way!" Chloe announced proudly.

"Really? A couple of months ago, you would've been all: _Dupain-Cheng and my Adrikins? That's ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous_!" Kagami said in sheer impersonation of Chloe's voice raising her brow teasingly.

"Hmph! The same could be said for you, Miss. Ice Queen Who Was All Over Adrien! You had a scrapbook dedicated after him!" Chloe shot back with a satisfied smirk as Kagami burst out into laughter.

"Oh my...we've come so far, haven't we?" Kagami said recovering from her giggles,

"We could almost thank Lila."

"Yeah, you should thank her by smacking her to Antartica with your mother's sword, see how she'd fancy that!" Chloe marvelled in murder.

"Definitely consider it. That's definitely what will happen if Operation Unmask The Fox fails." Kagami stated. Was the lack of sarcasm in her voice scary or satisfactory?

"How do you think Adrien will cope with the reason for Marinette's tardiness?" Chloe asked.

"Oh, you know, he'll definitely do his regular: _Oh, Marinette, she's just a friend!_" Kagami mocked sending the two of them leaning their heads back in laughter.

"HA! That Boy! Is Oblivious! Utterly Oblivious! He would deny it even if the words were painted in red on a lie detector dancing right in front of his face." Chloe chuckled shaking her head.

"Yeah. He would. But I just want them to be happy, you know?" Kagami said sitting upright, "Even if Marinette is with Luka, I hope Adrien can deal with it."

"I'm counting for that not to happen! Lukanette's only running because Adrienette is all messed up but when Adrienette rises again, Lukanette will have to fight a tough battle!"

"Oh goodness...you and your ships." Kagami said shaking her head.

"Hey, I just think, Luka and Marinette aren't meant to be! Adrien and Marinette, on the other hand, I have a lot to say about those lovebirds!"

"Well...lovebirds who won't even talk to each other?" Kagami sighed.

"Oh, after today, everything'll be fine, trust me."

"Hopefully." Kagami said gazing out of the window as Chloe's house approached.

"Oh, we don't need to hope. I know everything will work out. Just trust me." Chloe mused as her car came to a stop in front of the hotel.

* * *

Marinette hung onto Luka as she rode ahead with him on his bike. The Parisian air engulfed her with warmth.

They were riding across the Pont des Arts bridge when Luka went for a abrupt halt.

"Is everything alright?" Marinette asked.

"Everything's fine." Luka gave her one of his lovely smiles, "I was wondering whether you would like some ice cream."

He pointed towards Andre's ice-cream stand, Andre stood there waving at them.

"Uh-sure! Why not?" Marinette beamed.

Luka reached out for her arm, she took it, and hooked it between his own as they stepped forward to Andre's stand.

Andre beamed at them and gave them a 'blueberry' and 'blackberry' ice cream and it was comprised with a cherry atop it and she had no reason why he did that.

He didn't even go on with his little poetic ice cream chants as if he expected them to guess for themselves.

"Enjoy your ice cream." Andre smiled and winked. Though, she felt the wink was one-sided, more like he was winking at her then at Luka.

They sat down at a bench nearby and took bites into their ice cream. It tasted pretty good actually. She gazed towards Luka and saw that he had a swatch of ice cream at the edge of his lip. She gulped.

In romantic movies, the _boyfriend_ was shown to rub the girlfriend's cheek to get the ice-cream off (Luka and her weren't exactly in a relationship, right, though, but it was still a date?). For her, the roles were reversed and she was honestly debating what to do. Should she rub his cheek or should she inform him and let him clean it off by itself? She didn't want to give him the wrong impression by rubbing his cheek but at the same time she didn't want to make him feel like she wasn't interested. Oh, this was hard. Wasn't it?

"Hey." Luka called snapping her out of her internal panic, "are you okay, you seem a bit stressed there?"

She wanted to say she was 'fine' but his voice was filled with such genuine concern that she couldn't bring herself to lie.

"I'm really bad at this whole 'date' thing. I don't know what to do and what not to do." Marinette admitted as she looked down to her feet.

"It's quite alright." Luka put his hand on her shoulder, "I don't exactly know what I'm doing either. But it's alright. Too make things easier, why don't we stay in our comfort zones for now, not doing anything that is likely to feel uncomfortable or uneasy for the other person. If one of us is going too far, then the other person has the full right to tell them, alright?"

She looked up to face him. His ocean blue eyes were staring at her, so softly, so adorably.

"We're both learning together. You with me on this?" he said moving closer to her as fluttery heat kissed her cheeks and neck making her feel all tingly and warm.

"Yeah." She replied, surprised at how soft and deep her voice sounded.

"Good." His wonderful smile was the reason for the blissful silence that followed.

It felt like the right moment to do it...it really did. She was so close to raising her hand to his cheek...she really was. But then...

"You have a bit of ice-cream beside your lip." She stated as he raised his hand to his lip.

"Wait!" She stopped him as she reached out for her purse; his confused gaze upon her.

"Here." She said handing him a fresh tissue. Not too suggestive. Not too reserved. Perfect. This gesture was somewhere in the middle of both. Just like her feelings.

"Thank you." He responded as he took the tissue to wipe the ice cream off his skin.

_It was slow. It felt right. No pressure. No pressure at all. And she meant it._

* * *

Adrien entered the room to see both Chloe and Kagami inside. Chloe was applying nail-polish and Kagami sat reading.

"Where's Marinette?" He asked at the absence of a certain ravenette, "Please don't tell me that you told her that I would be here and she actually ran away screaming for real!"

Kagami put her book down and gave him a smile.

"Of course not, Adrien, she-"

"She's on a date!" Chloe interrupted, an obvious smirk painted on her lips as the words escaped her mouth.

"A d-date?" Adrien asked though it wasn't really a question. It was more like a statement of shock or was it...hurt?

"Yeah...with Luka." Kagami responded.

The mention of his name brought a strange prickly feeling inside him that he couldn't comprehend.

"Oh...well...that's great!" His words surprisingly came off way bitter than they were meant to be.

"Jealous?" Chloe asked, slyly looking at him from beneath her eyelashes.

"J-Jealous? M-Me? What? No!" Chloe's question had caught him off-guard. He had no reason to feel jealous! Why would she think that?

"Me and Marinette are _just friends_." He clarified.

Kagami and Chloe exchanged glances with mock amusement in their eyes and their lips squeezed together as if they were fighting laughter. He didn't get what was so funny.

"Anyways..." Adrien cleared his throat and said, "Is she coming at all?"

"Don't worry, Adrikins! She'll be here! Just call your father and tell him that a friend'll be late and the 'project' will turn out to be longer than usual." Chloe told him.

"Oh, right! Good idea!" Adrien reached his phone.

"Actually, that was my idea." Kagami said giving Chloe a pretend glare to which she shrugged.

"Thank you, both of you, then." He called Nathalie and filled her in and managed to get an excess 45 mins onto their plate.

He hoped Marinette arrived quickly, not too quickly though. He was anxious to see her. How would she react to see him?

He really did want things to get sorted out between them though. He was done playing misunderstandings. _It was time to set things right, once and for all!_

* * *

Luka halted in front of Chloe's hotel. The sun was beginning to set. The sky streamed with lovely warm colours. Her favourite part of the day.

"This is where you need to be right?" He asked her.

"Yep." She answered getting of his bicycle, "Thanks for the ride. And the ice cream. And the-"

"Thanks for coming. I appreciated it." Luka said giving her his lovely smile once again.

"Me too." She reciprocated the smile, warm and gushy feelings reaching her heart.

"Well...I better get-" A cold gust of wind brushed over them. It made her hair fall on her face and ugh...it brushed over her mouth, blocking out her words.

She tried to push it away and tuck it behind her ear but as the wind kept blowing, it kept falling flat on her face.

"May I?" Luka asked after numerous attempts at her struggle and groaning.

She jumped, forgetting he was there.

"Sure." she said but she didn't really know how he could help. She had tried numerous times herself and failed.

He reached out for her hair and tucked it behind her ear. Then, with his other hand, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a few bobby pins and pinned them into her hair.

"That better?" He asked. His hand still tangled in her hair.

"Yeah. That's way better." She responded, her voice coming back to the soft and deep tone it took earlier on today.

They stood there like that for a bit. His hand to her hair and their eyes on each other. She could feel the thumping of her heart and the fluttery feeling in her chest. Was his eyes always this blue? She felt like she never noticed it before.

"Well." He pulled away smiling, "I better get going then."

"Right!" Marinette said, her voice coming back to her throat, "I have one question though...why do you have bobby pins with you?"

"Who said men don't need hair clips?" He said playfully, "Moreover, they could always use some especially in situations like this."

He finished his last sentence with a wink and a sweet smile. The gesture making her blush.

He waved her off and rode away on his bicycle. She looked after him.

_This time all she saw sat on the bike was Luka. Nobody else in his place._

* * *

Marinette walked through the hallways towards Chloe's bedroom. She wondered what Kagami and Chloe wanted to talk about. She wasn't too keen though, to know what they wanted to talk about, as she already had this feeling that she knew where this conversation was going to lead them to.

Only one person could make them so desperate. It was Lila. And god knows, what bad news was going to come to her now? She didn't know whether she was ready to hear it.

Marinette turned the knob to her room, waking in.

"Hey, Chlo-" She froze mid-sentence. And it wasn't a what. It was a who. Only one person caught her attention in that room. And her heart skipped a beat.

Adrien Agreste was seated on Chloe's chaise. His ever-so green eyes staring right at her and his lips were parted open like her own. As he looked at her, she could feel her shoulders and legs shaking and her heart clenching...with pain.

He snapped out of his trance, sighed and walked right towards her. The more closer he got, the more she could feel the adrenaline pumping into her head.

He stopped in front of her, stared at her, bit his lip, opened and closed his mouth like he wanted to say something until finally...

"H-Hi Marinette." was all he could muster.

* * *

**There you go, you now know I'm evil!**

**Especially with the cliffhanger : )**

**I feel like after this chapter, Adrienette fans are going to have blades at my throat. Well...deal with it. I'll make it up to you?!**

**Anyways, unlike last time, I'm not going to be gone for 2 months leaving you off in suspense (that would be amusing again though!).**

**Fortunately, for you lot, the next chapter will be posted soon enough!**


	11. Clarifications

**Chapter 11: Clarifications**

Marinette gaped and gaped at him. She could feel her mouth open to respond, but instead of words, all that escaped from it was a heated gasp.

_She didn't know what he was doing here! She didn't know what he wanted! She didn't even know why Kagami and Chloe complied! But she knew that she wasn't ready...wasn't ready...wasn't ready to face him._

And yet, here he stood, right in front of her eyes. Anxiously confident, he stood.

Chloe cleared her throat. Probably, trying to clear the obvious awkwardness, but even as she felt herself turn to face Chloe, she could still feel the awkwardnessand the nerves.

"I know we caught you off guard by..._this_."

Marinette fought the urge to scoff at her. Catching her off guard was a _total understatement_.

"...but we honestly didn't have much time. And we needed to come forward and clarify everything we know." Chloe continued.

_Clarify everything they knew?_ They hid stuff from her now? Now, that blow to her chest didn't feel too great...she was beginning to understand how Cat Noir felt when she had to hide the secret of the guardian from him. The guilt and anger that prickled inside her, wasn't a pleasant combination.

"Things haven't exactly been easy. We made some rough discoveries and we didn't want to hide them from you, we were just worried for you, but now, no more secrets, you'll know everything."

Kagami said stepping forward.

The anger inside her melted a bit. Being Ladybug, she always had to hide stuff to protect the people she cared about. If anyone knew about her secret identity, then she would've never forgiven herself for putting them in that situation...it was dangerous. And being on the other end for once was..._strangely flattering_. It showed that they cared, they cared about her. She hadn't felt that feeling...for a long time now.

"Y-you might want to sit down. I-It's going going to be a lot to process." Adrien's voice bounced off her ears. She turned her head towards him, he shot her an anxious smile.

She could've listened...she really could've...but her emotions bit back at her.

"No...I'm fine, thank you." She responded. Her voice rather cold. The smile vanished from his face and he looked like he'd just been slapped in the face. A sickly throbbing feeling of guilt entered her stomach. She pretended to ignore it.

She walked away, towards Chloe and Kagami. She couldn't bear being near him anymore. Her mixed feelings towards him were getting too good at controlling her.

"Okay." Marinette said stopping in front of Chloe, "so, fill me in!"

* * *

She regretted not sitting down. She really did now.

The entire time Chloe and Kagami continued to burst out revelations and revelations. All she could do was gasp and gasp, fighting the urge of pulling her hair out in shock.

_Lila not being Lila?! Possibly being Felix's sister?_

She did not see that coming. Especially the letter.

But the biggest thing that hit at her was not those revelations. B-But i-it w-was t-the fact...

Oh no, she was stammering in her head now.

She couldn't bring herself to look at him, she really couldn't. She didn't know how to feel.

He went through Lila's torture to protect her. All this time, she had thought he h-had gone to the dark side. Lost faith in her too.

Warmth flooded her chest and cheeks as she realised how much he had done for her. Such devotion. Such compassion. All of it was...familiar?

But...then again...he hid it. He left her alone. He did it to protect her indeed! But...he went through all of that for her...and didn't even bother to tell her about any of it.

He should've told her. He really should've.

He had to go through Lila's threats! Harassment! Without anyone knowing...the fury of what he endured burnt through her veins.

Yes...she was threatened too! But this was different! He was threatened because of her!

The guilt and anger fed on her. She felt so overwhelmed with emotion, that she felt like she could explode. That was it. They were getting this settled.

"You should've told someone sooner." Marinette said darkly as she faced Adrien.

He blinked in shock at the fact that she was even speaking to him.

"I...I couldn't." He replied softly. It was a bit too soft.

"Well...you should've!" She pretty much spat out. The venom in her voice clear.

"Er...well..." Chloe said awkwardly, "me and Kagami need a bit of fresh air, we'll be out in the balcony!"

She hastily dragged Kagami outside, leaving the two of them alone in her room.

"I couldn't...she could've played well on her threat." He told her. His voice much more assertive this time but it still held that calm composure to it.

"I-Ugh-Her threat was on me! You should've walked away! Not SUFFER BECAUSE OF ME!" She pretty much yelled, her knees weak as she hurled down to sit on the floor. Her knees hugging her chest. She buried her face in her hands to stop the intense pounding of her forehead.

"Nothing I endured from her was because of you, Marinette." his voice was genuine and soft, as she could feel him taking a seat on the floor beside her, "she needed to be stopped. Even more now that she could be my c-cousin."

She felt the shiver in his tone as she looked up to face him. His eyes faced downwards, he looked dejected, betrayed and afraid. It felt like if he was pushed any harder into the pain, he would break.

That's the moment she felt selfish. Here, she was thinking about what he shouldn't have done when he was still coping with his aunt's betrayal.

"You're right. I'm sorry." She replied, the softness etching back to her voice, "I should be more grateful but instead here I am, taunting you, I was the one screaming at you for doubting me. Really, I should be the the one apologising for doubting you, even now, I'm still mad, I'm sorry, I'm such a horri-"

Her words drowned away as he placed his finger to her lips to hush her.

"Please don't finish that sentence." his pleaded, "you're not the only one to blame here, you're right, I shouldn't have left you when you needed a friend. I should've warned you about the threat, if I wasn't so afraid, maybe, we could've dealt with this together. I'm sorry for not being there for you. I, of everyone, should've known what loneliness feels like. And from now onwards, I promise I'll always be there for you. You'll never be alone again."

She smiled as he removed his finger from her lips and cupped his hand to her chin instead.

"So...I guess we're even know." She asked, her smile leaking out from her voice.

"Yeah, we are." He replied, he moved closer to her and reciprocated the smile.

"Thank you." She said, "for everything."

"No problem. The least I could do for our everyday Ladybug!" He grinned and winked at her as she giggled in response.

It was at that moment, she released how close they'd gotten to each other during the conversation. His hand was cupped to her chin and his face was merely centimetres apart. Their eyes were on each other and she could feel the warmth from this breath brush against her lips. They were so close, close enough for their li-

The opening of the balcony door startled them, snapping them from their daze. They jumped apart and sprang onto their feet to see Chloe and Kagami come back into the room.

"What did we miss?" Chloe asked smirking.

"Nothing." Marinette said, her voice note high-pitched than usual.

"Just some clarifications, okay?" Adrien responded.

"Well then, I hope everything's clarified?" Kagami asked. Her voice tense as her eyes bounced back between the two of them.

Adrien and Marinette exchanged glances and smiled, facing back to her.

"Everything's okay." She replied making Chloe and Kagami sigh in relief.

"Finally!" Chloe exclaimed, "now, that we're all on one page again! Operation Unmask The Fox can resume!"

"So, what is the next phase of the plan?"

Kagami, Adrien and Chloe exchanged tense glances. She felt like she wasn't going to like the next phase.

"Well...you see...the next phase is...me and Chloe are actually planning to go undercover and pretend to be Lila's friends, that way, we can get more dirt on her." Kagami explained.

The idea wasn't bad but she didn't like it very much.

"But...how is she going to believe you?"

"We might have to stage an argument between the 3 of us." Chloe said anxiously.

"So...you all are going to be playing undercover? And I'm going to be Miss. Lonelypants?" Marinette questioned, her voice shaking with dread. _She didn't want to be alone! Even if it was just for pretend! She already had dealt with enough dejection and judgement! Chloe and Kagami were the ones that actually helped her get through it!_

"You're not going to be alone!" Adrien assured her, "you can see us after school and if you feel lonely in lunch, I could come to your house for lunch, that is, if you're okay with it?"

"You would do that?" Marinette asked.

"Hey! I was serious about my promise! I've got your back!" Adrien beamed.

"But...what about your father? Will he let you?"

"I'll convince him! I already have the perfect excuse!" Adrien replied.

She beamed at him once again. How had everything become so easy, this quickly?

"Look, Marinette, are you okay with the plan? We'll only do it if you're alright with it?" Kagami asked her.

Well...she could say she would've preferred better but this plan had so many benefits behind it. If they could out Lila for who she was, this torture would be over! Besides, she wasn't lonely, she had her friends. She just had to trust them.

"I'm...in!" Marinette replied smiling, "Operation Unmask The Fox is on the go!"

* * *

**I know...this is a short chapter! But I hope it's worth the shortness?**

**Anyways, my next chapter is going to be a little different? It's going's g to be in a slightly different format/POV! It's going to take some time but I promise I'll have it out by the end of next week!**


	12. Lies of the Fox

**Chapter 12: Lies of the Fox**

Lila Rossi waved to Alya as she stepped back into her house.

Having friends felt good, even if she was secretly trapping them in her web of lies. She liked the feeling.

However, she hadn't come here to make friends...

"Hello sweetie, how was school?" She heard her 'mother's' voice welcome here.

"Good, maman." Lila replied giving her a kiss on the cheek. "No embassy work, today?"

"Nope. I'm off today..." She replied. "Also, some of your friends came to visit today!"

Lila froze in her footsteps. "Friends...Who?"

"I think their names were Cleo, Kami and Adrien. I know the last one because he's your boyfriend, right?"

What? Why would they come and visit? She had a bad feeling about this...

"Yeah. I knew they were coming, almost forgot about it." Lila lied sweetly.

"Also, Audrey Bourgeois is interested in working with you, isn't that great?"

"I'm super excited! We'll talk about it later, okay, Mom!" Lila smiled and rushed to her room, searching through her belongings. Everything seemed to be in the right place but...

She was sure Chloe, Kagami and Adrien had ulterior motives. She needed to keep an eye on those three and manipulate them away from the target.

Lila pulled her phone out and secretly started dialing the anonymous number. She needed some help."

"Hello. Who is this?"

"It's me." Lila responded.

"Dearie, you know you shouldn't be calling like this. It's dangerous...unless...you have something to tell me."

"No, maman, I'm still getting trying to get close enough to the Agrestes. Plus, if I want to steal the final ring, I need to be discrete so they don't out me."

"Why have you called then?"

"Several people are proving to be...problematic and...they might be getting suspicious." Lila sneered. "One of them being your nephew."

"Oh no! He doesn't know the truth does he?"

"I'm not too sure. My room doesn't have that many clues...but...I think he knows I'm associated with you but not the entire truth yet."

"Good." Amelie responds. "We can't let him know. Good for you, I and Felix will be able to make it this month to Paris."

"Excellent." Lila grinned. "Till then, I'll be more careful."

"Of course, you will, our number one skill has always proved handy in the past. And it will still continue to be useful."

"Manipulation." Lila answered gleefully.

"Manipulation, indeed."

* * *

Lila was out here in the courtyard witnessing a huge planned argument, it grabbed the attention of everyone around her.

"Lila was right all along. You really are a manipulator, Marinette." Kagami snapped at the ravenette.

"It wasn't me, guys. I didn't do it." Marinette shrieked at them.

"Being mean is in, Marinette. Lies, on the other hand are so fired." Chloe sneered back. "I always should have treated you like the rugrat you were."

She must say...they were good actors.

"Come on, guys, we can still be friends."

"That's it, Marinette. We're done with you. Just like everyone else here." Kagami said bluntly turning away.

"You deserve this, Dupain-Cheng." Chloe huffed as her and Kagami strutted away.

The courtyard started glaring at Marinette and started throwing insults at her. Lila grinned. Such sacrifices. For no reason. They were falling into their own trap.

"Hey, Lila." Kagami called her name.

She smiled sweetly towards Kagami. "Hey. I saw what went back down there. Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry that we didn't listen to you beforehand. You were right about Marinette. If it isn't too late, Chloe and I would still like to be your friends."

Kagami pointed at Chloe who was stubbornly leaning against the pole looking at her.

"Don't mind her. You know how she's like..." Kagami stated. "However, we'd really like to be you friends. If you are willing to give us a chance."

Lila grinned. She knew what they were doing. Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer. Just like the saying. Too bad their scheme won't go too well...

"Sure." Lila replied. "I'd love to be your friend. It's never too late."

It was too late to turn back now from her game. They had just taken the first step into it.

* * *

**I am so sorry for the late update…**

**(Very Late. It's been months).**


End file.
